Dawn of a New Day
by X-Lisa-Anne-X
Summary: Olivia Gilbert, the twin sister of Elena Gilbert has a secret. One that began a month before the crash that killed her parents and nearly drowned her sister. This secret is big and if it got out, she's dead. And this secret ... she's a vampire ...
1. Prologue

**I have so many different story ideas going around in my head right now it's ridiculous. But, this was one that wouldn't leave me alone before I could update another with my limited time. I really hope you Vampire Diaries lovers like this one…**

 **Olivia Gilbert, the twin sister of Elena Gilbert has a secret. One that began one month before the crash that killed her parents and nearly drowned her sister. This secret is** **big,** **if it got out, she was dead. And this secret … she was a vampire …**

 **This is a Stefan/OC and Elena/Damon fanfic.**

 **The Vampire Diaries Fanfic | Dawn of a New Day | Prologue**

 _Dear Diary,_

 _I'm so sorry for not writing to you sooner diary but so many things have happened since that day, there are just too many to count. I've turned into a monster, something I wished I had never become – something that I hadn't even known existed until that day. If it wasn't for Lexi, I wouldn't even have the little control I have now … all of my family would have been dead the second I was given the invite to come in._

 _It's been so hard you cannot even imagine diary, the thirst for blood grows every day and it's lucky that the mini fridge hidden in my closet had a couple of blood bags still in it. I needed to keep them hidden because if anyone found them out; I honestly wouldn't know what to say. Yes, I can compel people, but I don't want to and don't like to. I would be_ _ridding_ _my friends and family of their free will – I couldn't do that, and I simply just don't want to._

 _These heightened emotions of mine were challenged a couple of months ago, my parents died and Elena, my other half was nearly killed also. If it wasn't for a mysterious miracle that pulled her out of the car, I would have lost her too. But Jeremy has taken the brunt of the hit, he's hardly ever the same anymore – he's begun to do drugs and drink copious amounts of alcohol and it's something that beginning to scare me. We used to have a close relationship as I've already said many times in my other entries, but now, it looks like it's been severed for what looks to be for good._

 _Because of becoming a vampire, my life is literally on hold. I don't age and this is something that depresses me greatly – I can't have children, something I have wanted in my future but I can no longer have. I'll have to watch my family grow old and in a couple of years, I might even have to fake my death so no one can figure out why I'm not aging. I just feel sad all the time, I feel like I'm never going to be okay – why can't I just be happy … and human?_

 _I don't really know how I became a vampire, all I remember is someone coming up behind me and then a blinding pain in my neck. The last thing I vaguely remember was something covering my mouth, a thick liquid running down my throat before everything went dark. I woke up in the middle of an_ _alley way_ _with a thirst for blood in my throat – the chef coming out to have a smoke was my first and luckily my only victim._

 _The guilt was another thing weighing heavily on my shoulders. It just keeps getting stronger and stronger as time goes by. And another thing that bugs me too is my daylight ring; I found it on my finger the moment I woke up. I obviously didn't know what it's purpose was until Lexi realized what it was. She didn't have a clue as to who might have given it me either. It's just very puzzling._

 _Today is the first day of school and I'm freaking out, there are going to be so many people walking around near me that it's going to be nearly impossible to keep my fangs in and hidden. I've been lucky that before the summer vacation, I had been on a school trip of some sorts to Chicago for co-op, this was where I had become a vampire and met Lexi. Lexi had compelled everyone to think I was there when really, I was with her trying to control my lust for blood the whole time. It was the only sure way to help me through this difficult time. We still talk to each other on the phone but it has been over a week since our last conversation. She had met someone, a guy, and they were going on a romantic vacation together up north._

 _So diary, today is going to be the first day of really being around people – before today I had pretty much stayed cooped up in my room or going to places that didn't have such a high body count, or I would only go out to get some more blood from the hospital._ _Unfortunately_ _I do have to compel the guards when I do that, it's the only thing I really know how to do or feel at least a little comfortable doing._

 _Everyone is going to ask how I'm doing and I'll say I'm fine, but of course I'll be lying through my teeth. But I'll try. I'll try for my little brother and I'll try for my twin who's been through a near death experience. Although I had been in a true death experience that I can never talk about, I've had more time to come to terms with it – she hasn't. I'm going to be there for them while still trying to keep this deadly secret to myself._

 _I'll talk to you soon dairy…_

 _Olivia._

 **Let me know what you think, should I continue? For those of you who have read my other Vampire Diaries** **dis-continued** **story, I am sort-of using the same character but this Olivia will be different than the other.**


	2. 1-1 A Hard First Day

**You'll find that I enjoy putting my own sort of twist/original chapter parts in. [You'll know if you read any of my latest stories lol]**

 **Vampire Dairies Fanfic | Dawn of a New Day | Pilot – Part 1**

"Liv, come on, wake up!" Elena called through her sister's bedroom door, banging on it at the same time. She was all ready and dressed for the day, it was usually up to her these days to make sure her little brother and twin got up at the right time. It didn't always used to be up to her though, usually it was Olivia that liked to wake Jeremy up and then her – but lately, she's become more distant. Less seen around the house and all she really did these days was hide away in her room.

She really missed her twin.

Inside the bedroom, Olivia was sitting cross-legged on the bed still in her pyjamas, staring at the door. Her diary was laying in her lap, just having finished writing her latest diary entry. She let out a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Today was the day – the first day back at school. The day she had been dreading for months.

"I'm up, Lena!" Olivia called back, letting her twin know she was indeed up and alive. Olivia knew she's been a lot more distant lately, but this was only due to the fact that her blood lust was very bad, pretty much all the time. And for some reason; Elena smelled delicious – it was so bad she could smell it from a mile away. Her dead heart clenched at the thought – it was painful to even think about it.

"Well hurry up!" From what she could tell, Elena was heading down the stairs. "Bonnie will be here any moment!"

Olivia turned her head to look at the clock – her eyebrows raised in surprise, Bonnie would indeed be here in about 10 minutes to drive them to school. She liked Bonnie, they were good friends – but Caroline was the one who she'd called her best friend. It was like this; Bonnie and Elena – Olivia and Caroline. But they got along together pretty good. Olivia had noticed at times though that Bonnie and Elena wouldn't give Caroline much credit, so it did annoy just a tiny bit.

With a sigh, she got herself out of bed and rushed over to her cupboard, grabbing the usual clothing she'd wear for school. Most of the time it was jeans and casual top, and if it was cold, a sweater would come in handy. But it didn't really matter anymore because of her vampire state, she could pretty much walk outside in her underwear and not feel a thing. Not that she ever would of course.

Before she went into the bathroom to get ready, she chugged down a sac of blood she had originally stolen from the hospital about a week ago. When it came to blood, she did semi-rely on blood bags but occasionally, she did make trips out into the forest to have some animal blood in her system. Those days would only really come if her supply stock was running very low.

~ 8 ~

Olivia was just walking into the kitchen when her Aunt stated, "Toast … I can make toast." Elena was making herself a cup of coffee, pouring it into the large mug in her hand.

"It's all about the coffee, Aunt Jenna." She commented, tiredly blinking. Sometimes she really hated mornings, much like her sister used to.

Being a vampire didn't really require sleep, it was just a nice thing to do.

It was then that Elena saw her sister appear and she jumped in her skin, not having heard her come downstairs. "Wow, Liv, where'd you come from?" She teased. Suddenly she felt a little more awake, all thanks to her twin.

Olivia sent her a small smile having found that sight amusing, "From my room." She retorted, moving over to one of the kitchen cupboards to pour herself some cereal. As she passed her Aunt, she made sure not to get too close. Not really having much experience with physical contact to human skin for a while now, because whenever she did, she could practically feel the blood pumping in that person's veins. Another reason as to why she liked to keep her distance from her family.

It had gotten better over time, though. After spending several months in the same house, it really made Olivia get used to it; the smells weren't as bad as she first got back. But it still wasn't easy.

"Here." Elena said, moving over to pass her sister a mug of coffee. Taking a sip of her own as she did.

"Thanks." Liv replied, taking a massive gulp. The one main thing she learned from Lexi was that Coffee was gold when it came to the skin temperature of a vampire – having enough Coffee will stop your skin from being as cold as it usually would.

Olivia didn't turn around, but she could hear Jeremy coming down the stairs. She's had the chance to hear how heavy everyone walks, especially with being trapped in her room, and he definitely was not the lightest of them all. She tensed when Jenna walked past her, the ginger's scent drifting under her nose inconspicuously.

"Is there Coffee?" Jeremy announced his presence to the rest of the room. He looked all ready for school but a bit ruffled, you couldn't really tell whether he wanted to go to school or not.

Aunt Jenna began to stress, "It's your first day of school, and I'm totally unprepared." She rushed over to her bag lying on the dining room table, it was placed in the connection between the living room and kitchen. As she did this, Jeremey went over to Elena, stealing the mug of coffee from her hands.

Elena sent him a small glare but didn't really put much effort into it. She sighed, shaking her head before making herself a new cup – making it a bit steamier than the last.

Jenna went back over to the three, "Lunch money?" She questioned, holding out several five-dollar bills ready for the taking.

"I'm good, Jen." Olivia shook her head – there was no way she was going in that 'human-invested' room that had over a hundred bodies in it at a time. You'd be expecting a massacre with her entering it. She wasn't ready for something like that. She could barely go to 'The Grill' without having urges, it was that bad.

"I'm okay, too." Elena waved it off too, sending their Aunt a thankful look anyway.

Jeremy, on the other hand, took the whole lot when he realised neither of his sisters wanted any of it. He knew what he was going to use it for … and it wasn't for lunch.

"Anything else?" Jenna wondered, going back over to her bag, trying to think if there was something she had forgotten – she was sure there was something … "What am I missing?" She asked herself this time.

Olivia swallowed the cereal in her mouth, "Wasn't there some kind of school thing you had today?" She remembered vaguely a few weeks ago about Jenna mentioning something along those lines.

Elena nodded, remembering a little too, "A presentation or something, wasn't it?"

A look of realization crossed Jenna's face, "I'm meeting with my thesis advisor at…" She looked down at her watch, and her eyes widened at the same time, "Now - crap!"

"Jenna, just go." Olivia placed her bowl in the sink, speaking for everyone. Jenna had a life too, she didn't want their Aunt to now have to revolve her whole life around them. "We'll be fine." She continued to sip down the rest of her coffee.

Jenna gave one look of gratitude towards them before literally sprinting out the door, and it was only a couple of seconds later that Olivia heard the familiar car engine making its way down the road in a very hasty manner.

As Olivia placed her mug into the sink, on top of her empty cereal bowl, Elena turned to Jeremy. He was currently drinking away at his coffee, grabbing a couple cereal bars in the process. "Are you okay?" Elena asked, concerned. Her soft doe eyes looking at her little brother with worry.

Jeremy hated that look and tone, so he scoffed. "Don't start." He grumbled, pushing past the girls before making his way back upstairs.

Olivia just sighed, watching him go. She knew that Jeremy had really taken the bigger hit in all this, you could tell just by what his extra-curricular activities now included. "He just needs time, Lena." She told her sister softly, looking saddened herself as they watched their little brother huff away back upstairs.

"I just hate seeing him like this." Elena looked at her in despair, forgetting about her own full mug of coffee for the moment. "This isn't what mom and dad would have wanted."

"I know, but…" Liv just gave her a shrug, not really knowing anything else they can do other than to try and at least help him through this. "…we can't exactly force him. It has to be his decision to get better, otherwise he'll resent us completely." Yes, she could compel him to stop taking drugs and drinking alcohol – but she couldn't do it, she wouldn't. There's no way she'd take away her little brother's choice away no matter how much he screws up.

Elena's eyes suddenly lit up. "Maybe you could talk to him?" She suggested. Those two seemed to have some kind of bond she never really got; Olivia had always been closer to Jeremy than she had. It did hurt a little in her case, but she understood. It never really bothered her too much anyway.

"I don't think he'll listen to me though," Her sister replied, "We haven't exactly been close since I got back from the co-op trip."

"But your still his favorite person." Lena pushed, not letting go. Olivia would be the only to really get through to him.

The doorbell suddenly rang; it must be Bonnie.

"Fine." Olivia finally gave in after a moment of thought, heading towards the staircase. She looked at her sister one last time, "Head out with Bonnie, I'll just walk to school." She started making her way up the stairs, intent on talking to her little brother properly for the first time since coming back.

"Are you sure?!" Elena called loudly, not even realising that Olivia could have actually heard her even if she had whispered.

"Yeah!" Was the last reply Elena got as her sister disappeared upstairs.

~ 8 ~

Olivia stopped outside her brother's closed door, her undead heart pumping ten to the dozen. After a moment of hesitation, she knocked on the door. She heard a groan from inside the room, "Go away, Elena!" Jeremy shouted, but didn't move from where he was so it seemed. He didn't expect to have Olivia being the one to knock on his door.

Licking her bottom lip nervously, she corrected the name, "It's me, Jer." She called back. She heard nothing but silence, only the normal breathing coming from her brother. So when she didn't get a reply, she grasped the doorknob and opened the door. Surprisingly, he didn't seem to stop her.

Olivia looked into the room, slipping in before closing the door behind her – she saw Jeremy lounging back on his bed, fiddling with the IPod in his hand. She tried giving him a small smile, "Hey." She said almost quietly. It never used to be this way, the two of them had such a great relationship. But after the distance she made upon coming home from Chicago and then their parents dying, it caused a strain between them too big enough for it to fit back together.

But it was time to repair that.

Jeremy just continued to stare at her, not really knowing what to say.

"Jeremy, I know I haven't been…" She tried to think of a way to say this without giving anything about her secret away, "…the same, since I came back from Chicago." Getting straight to the point, not liking the invisible tension in room. And there were so many smells in this room, it was hard to even concentrate.

"Yeah, you really haven't." Jeremy quipped, finally speaking. He didn't smile, but he wasn't angry or pissed at the same time. "Your always in your room these days keeping to yourself. You never used to do that." He couldn't help it, but a pinch of longing appeared in his eyes, you could tell he missed the relationship they had between them.

Olivia rung her hands together nervously but nodded understandingly. She moved away from the door, going over to sit on her brother's desk chair to the side. Jeremy watched her every move. "I know." She started, "And I'm really, really sorry about that." Looking completely apologetic, "I'm just … in Chicago, something happened and it just, it changed everything I knew - I can't really explain it."

Jeremy started to sit up on his bed, looking to his older sister now with concern. "What happened?" He asked. He knew there had to be at least a good reason for why she had become distant from everyone … especially him. But looking at her now, she did look a lost different – she seemed paler and her eyes just … there was just something different about them.

Olivia just shook her head with a sad smile, "It doesn't matter anymore." She told him. She wasn't going to burden him with what had really happened to her – she just hoped that he'd understand at least a little bit. And if anyone in her family were to find out what she had become – her fear was that they'd look at her differently, either with just being uncomfortable or completely and utterly scared. She couldn't handle that either, especially lately. "But Jeremy," She continued, looking into his eyes. "I'm willing to try and fix this if you are?" A bit of hope leaked into her voice.

Although Jeremy extremely hated the fact that she didn't tell him the actual reason for why she's behaving as she did – he did want to make things right. It's not like he's been the best person to her either come to think of it. "Okay." He nodded slowly, "I'd like that." Giving her just a tiny smile of acceptance.

Olivia let out a relieved breath, not even realising she had been holding that breath – even though she didn't really need any to begin with. Suddenly she turned to the clock on her brother's desk, her eyes widened. "Crap! We're gonna be late if we don't hurry!" Getting up nearly a bit too quickly and Jeremy watched in amusement, not moving from his spot.

She pointed to her brother, "Up. Now. School." She ordered, pointing to his door. This was how she used to be to him most of the time, it felt good to do that again.

Jeremy then rolled his eyes, finally getting up from the bed, slinging his backpack on before being pushed out the door by his sister. As long as she didn't bring out the ice bucket in the mornings, he could get used to this…

~ 8 ~

"See ya!" Jeremy shouted to sister, running off towards another direction of the school grounds – probably to where all his crackhead friends are. As he ran away without looking behind him, he didn't notice the fact that his sister had stopped in her spot, tensing up with almost a constipated look on her face.

' _Oh, god!'_ Olivia swallowed hard, holding in her breath for the moment. Her fists clenched around the handle of her shoulder bag, the smell of blood and sweat really stunk – her heightened smell really wasn't doing her any favours. There were so many people walking around – maybe she wasn't ready for this? Maybe she should have just have pretended to be sick and stayed home?

When a couple of people started to look at her weirdly, she just lowered her head, shouldering her bag just a little bit more before moving towards the school. Now she breathed in shallow breaths, trying to ignore all the horribly tasty smells getting to her. It was almost as bad as been within an inch from Elena.

Just as she walked into the school, a familiar voice hit her. "Olivia!" The same perky voice of Caroline filled the air.

Olivia, despite the turmoil happening inside her body right now, smiled instantly at the voice. Turning towards the direction she had heard it from, but just as she did, she felt a body colliding with her own. It was Caroline Forbes, her 'Best Friend Forever'. But then, that title would only work if Caroline was to change into a vampire too – and that was certainly not going to happen, not on her watch. She didn't want Caroline to have to go through what she was.

"Oh, my god!" Caroline squealed in her own usual way, tightening her hug, "I so, so happy to see you!" Then she pulled back, grabbing the brunette by the shoulders before looking her straight in the eye. "Are you feeling better?" The perkiness suddenly went, the concern now replacing it.

' _Not really'_ is what she wanted to say, but instead went with, "I'm doing much better, thank you." Olivia replied to her, smiling slightly. It was hard not to tense with Caroline still holding her, this was the thing she was afraid of. Her hunger was starting to take over – she had to get away from all these people, saliva started to fill the inside of her mouth.

"No, you're not." Caroline could sense it – the two of them were like sisters, the best of friends. "But it's okay, you can tell me when your ready." She hugged Olivia again, her silky blonde hair unknowingly hitting the other girl in the face. That's what she loved about Caroline because although she butted into everyone else's business, she didn't do that to her. Something she was extremely grateful for right now, at least.

"Caroline, I have to go find Elena." Olivia suddenly stated, trying to look sorry, "But we'll sit next to each other first period, right?" Even though they hadn't really seen each since she got back, they've been texting and calling a lot. They pretty much had the same schedule barring a few courses. Olivia probably would have gone into insanity if she hadn't been keeping up with the blonde during her long period of time away from civilisation.

Caroline looked disheartened but understood, "Okay, but don't be late." She pointed a stern finger towards her best friend. She gave Olivia one last goodbye hug before skipping away, leaving the brunette alone to deal with the bloodlust.

Olivia turned, going in search of the lady's washroom – and fast.

~ 8 ~

As soon as she got into one of the cubicles and locked the door, Olivia began to quickly rummage through her bag – finding a small bottle of red liquid stashed away inside. She could already feel her fangs elongating as the small black veins under her eyes appeared – her eyes were probably shining red at the same time but she couldn't see.

With a sigh of relief, she opened the cap and gulped down nearly half the bottle within a second. This day was becoming harder than she imagined. As she gasped back, slowly resting her head back against the cold wall separating the toilets, the familiar annoying bell started to ring throughout the entire school – class was to begin in five minutes.

"Oh, come on." She breathed quietly to herself – she was just now feeling better - now she'll have to attempt walking through those crowds again without ripping throats out. That blood did seem to help though, she just hoped this small bottle would last long enough to get her through the day. Lexi had warned her that new vampires had it rougher than older ones.

Tying back on the cap and making sure there was nothing covering her lips, she hid the bottle back into the bag before unlocking the cubical door. With a steady breath, she walked out of the washroom – keeping her head held high.

But it didn't last very long because suddenly she bumped into something, another body. At the impact she gasped and looked up, her eyes widened when she saw someone she didn't recognise standing in front of her. The guy was wearing a pair of jeans, a black shirt and a leather jacket – he had short brown hair and his eyes were like a deep forest green.

It was like the whole world had stopped turning for a second.

"Oh, pardon me." The guy apologised, he had a small smile creeping up on his face as he looked down at Olivia. She noticed several other distinct features to him; he had a muscular structure and a pale complexation much like she did. Her eyes lingers on his lips for a moment … what was happening to her?

She mustn't have realised it, but Olivia had just come out of the men's washroom. He looked beside her head, "Um, is this the men's room?"

"What?" Olivia blinked, trying to figure out where her brain had disappeared to. And then his question struck her, and she looked beside herself too, seeing what the plating on the door said. Her eyes budged out in horror. She had gone into the men's room … how stupid could she get?!

She turned back to him, trying not to look embarrassed, "Yes, it is isn't it?" She chuckled nervously. She hadn't even realised that not for one moment had she wanted to suck him dry – she would figure that out later though. She glanced over his shoulder to see Caroline looking to her with a suggestive cocked eyebrow, but was more obviously in shock since she had appeared from the men's room instead of the ladies.

"I-I should get to class." Olivia began to stammer, not being able to take her eyes off that lingering smile that never disappeared from his face. She tried passing him and he obviously got that idea too, but they went the same way, not being able to pass each other.

They did it again, and Olivia gave a small shy laugh, "Sorry." Then he just moved aside, having his arm up gesturing the direction she wanted to go. He was such a gentleman. By this time everyone in the hallways was clearing out to get to classes – there were only a few people left around and Caroline wasn't one of them. Olivia slowly passed him, giving him a smile of her own contently, "Thank you."

She didn't realise it, but the guy continued to stare at her intriguingly as she bended around the corner. He never took his eyes off her for one second and the smile on his lips grew.

 **Note: Now, I know it's been a long time since I actually published the prologue. I was just in confliction on whether I should keep to my strengths with 3** **rd** **person, or if I should do it from Olivia's perspective. In the end, I just went with my strength, the one I know I'm good at.**

 **AND JUST TO BE CLEAR - This is a Stefan/OC Fanfic! Elena and Damon will eventually end up together like the show does!**

 **Follow, Fav and Review!**

 **I'd love to hear what you guys think of the concept so far!**


	3. 1-2 The New Boy in School

**This is the 8** **th** **update in my stories in four days … what's happened to me? Lol. Am I sure you guys are loving it though….right?**

 **A fair warning – unless I can get another chapter done before I go to sleep (which may not be for this fanfic); this will be the last chapter until next week. My assignments really do have to take precedence starting tomorrow. Two of them are due Friday … and I haven't even started … eep!**

 **Vampire Diaries Fanfic | Dawn of a New Day | Pilot – Part 2**

Olivia quickly found herself in the second period; History. And she could honestly say it was the most boring course she's ever had to sit through, she could die of boredom – no pun intended. The teacher is what makes the lesson even worse too; Mr. Tanner. The definition of a 'dick' teacher for the school, he loved picking out kids and making them become fools of themselves.

She was mindlessly doodling on her notepad as Tanner continued spouting out stuff she really didn't care about – actually, it was stuff that she had already memorized years ago. All thanks to being a part of one of the Founding Families.

And soon, she'll become History herself in a few centuries. The thought always made her feel gloomy.

"Once our home state of Virginia joined Confederacy in 1861, it created a tremendous amount of tension within the state … People in Virginia's Northwest had different ideas from those of the traditional deep South. And Virginia divided."

All of a sudden, Olivia looked up with a frown – feeling someone looking at her from behind, like using some kind of sixth sense as some people would call it. She turned slightly to where she felt the gaze, and surprisingly she saw that guy from the hallway looking over at her. If she still had warm blood running through her veins, she would have blushed deeply. When he noticed her staring, Olivia turned away herself, feeling embarrassed from being caught. But she couldn't seem to get rid of the giddy smile creeping up on her lips.

She couldn't help but feel … human. And for some reason, the hunger for blood dimmed again. It's like the concept of it flew right out of her mind.

Suddenly a small vibrating feeling went off in her pocket. After making sure Tanner wasn't looking, she quickly got out her phone to see what the device wanted her for. There was a text message from her sister.

Elena, Bonnie and she shared this History class, unfortunately, this was one of the classes where Caroline didn't have the same.

Olivia opened the text message, hiding her phone in her lap so Tanner wouldn't see it.

 _The new guy's staring at you!_

And the smile never left her lips as she put the phone back away, she could still feel the gaze to the side of her and she had to stop herself from looking back at him once more.

~ 8 ~

After school broke out for the day, Olivia had gone the long way home. She needed blood and this time, she didn't want to rely on human blood. There were only about two or three bags left in her mini-fridge back home, so she needed to make sure it lasted a little while longer.

Elena and Bonnie were going to be meeting her at the Grill tonight, Caroline as well, who was continuously going on about that new guy from school. She was giving out all types of details she's been able to find out – and it was a lot. According to her, he was 'Olivia's man'.

Olivia herself had shaken her head, the staring during class was probably nothing.

Although, she really hoped it wasn't.

~ 8 ~

Later on, getting towards night, Olivia was just putting the finishing touches on her outfit by throwing on her usual jacket. She never really liked dressing up, but she wanted to look nice. After looking back through the day – she really hit a huge milestone. She got through the first school day and to her, that's big. As far as she was concerned, it should get easier each day she went back. The first day's always the hardest.

"Jenna, I'm gonna go meet Elena, Bonnie and Caroline now!" She called to her Aunt who she could hear in the kitchen, prepping herself some dinner. As far as she knew, Jeremy was also hanging out at the Grill, or around … she wasn't really too sure. He had sort of just mumbled a reply, even her hearing couldn't fathom it out.

"Wait!" Jenna yelled. She suddenly came running in, seeing her niece standing by the front door gathering her bag. She tried to look stern, even placing her hands on her hips. She pointed a finger at the younger girl, "Don't you and your sister stay out too late … it's a school night."

Olivia chuckled at her Aunt's actions, nodding along, "Don't worry, Jen." She waved an arm in acknowledgment. "We'll be home in time for our five hours' sleep."

Jenna rolled her eyes, "Just don't be too late." She reminded before walking back into the kitchen.

Olivia just shook her head, smiling along at how well Jenna was actually faring out. She turned to the front door, hooking the shoulder strap over her head before turning the knob of the door – opening it wide. Then her own eyes went wide with a stifled gasp, noticing someone standing there, and not just someone. Stefan Salvatore. The mystery guy both Elena and Caroline had been telling her details about.

How did she not hear him approach the door?

Stefan seemed to catch her off guard, his hand was caught in mid-air towards the door in it had been closed. "Sorry," He apologised, seeing her startled by his presence. "I was just about to knock."

Olivia blinked, wondering if he was really there.

When he got no reply, he continued. "I had just come to apologise to your sister for my disappearing act earlier."

"Oh," Olivia finally uttered with remembrance, thinking back to what her sister said when she had actually met the guy. She had been down over at the graveyard writing in her journal, sitting next to mom and dad. She was pretty shaken for a moment when Olivia had arrived back home.

Luckily Elena had cleaned and covered that bloodied scab before her sister got a whiff of it.

"It's okay." She finally told him, looking a little bit less tense at the thought of Elena's blood. "I get it; blood isn't something I'm too good with either." She said honestly.

"How's is her leg?" Stefan tried to keep the conversation going.

Olivia smiled at the question, not being able to help but feel okay within his presence, "Turns out it was just a small scratch. Should heal pretty fast." Then something suddenly popped into her mind and she frowned curiously, "How did you know where we lived?"

"It's a small town," He answered after a moment, "I asked the first person I saw." Olivia made note that he never looked away from her face and her undead heart fluttered.

"Ah, right." That made sense, everyone in Mystic Falls knew where everyone lived.

"Oh!" Stefan exclaimed, remembering about something else as to why he had come – although, it hadn't been the main reason. He just wanted an excuse to see Olivia again. He brought out a familiar green book to Olivia, holding it out. "I thought your sister might want this back – she must have dropped it before bumping into me." He held out Elena's journal.

"Elena's journal." Liv looked at it in shock as she grabbed it from him, how could her sister have forgotten about that? "Thank you." She said, but then a horrible thought came to mind for her sister's sake – had he read it?

"Don't worry," Stefan started to say, obviously being able to tell what she was thinking – because he squished her internal fear for her sister's sanity. "I didn't read it."

"Really?" Olivia looked at his skeptically, "Most people would have." She tested him. She could see the truth in his eyes but just making sure will help give Elena some piece of mind.

His answer was simple, "Well, I wouldn't have wanted anyone to read mine."

Olivia blinked in shock, "You keep a journal?" She inquired, really interested now. No guy she knew would ever keep a journal, let alone write about their feelings into one little book.

"Yeah," He nodded, smiling as if understanding what she might be thinking. "If I don't write it down, I forget it. Memories are … too important."

"They really are." Olivia couldn't help but agree more with a sad tone that she hoped Stefan wouldn't notice. In a couple of years, that's all she could have left of Mystic Falls … just memories. She then realised Elena's journal was still in her hands, "Um, I'll be right back." She told Stefan, taking a few steps away from the door, she gave him a smile, "You can come in if you want."

As Olivia walked back into the house to put Elena's journal somewhere safe, Stefan was still standing by the doorway – unable to enter still. He sighed, already knowing why her invite hadn't worked. "I'm fine." He slipped his hands into his jacket pockets, waiting there patiently for the brunette to return.

When Olivia returned, she did wonder briefly why he hadn't actually come in. It was pretty nippy out there tonight for a September day. The two of them stared at each other for a moment, waiting for someone to speak.

Stefan broke the silence, seeing how well she was dressed up compared to what she had worn to school today. "Sorry, were you going somewhere?" He questioned, not trying to be nosy but just simply curious.

"Uh, yeah." Olivia nodded, curling a piece of hair behind her ear. She smiled, "I was just going to meet my sister and some friends." She paused, thinking about something for a moment. Something her heart and mind were both agreeing on. "Did you want to come?" She offered, looking into his eyes. It was pretty hard not to.

Stefan smiled a little wider than before, looking happy at the invitation, "I'd love to."

~ 8 ~

As soon as they entered 'The Grill' together, several pairs of eyes connected with their figures. Olivia, on the other hand, was reacting not too badly, but similar to how she had arrived at school. This was the first time in being at the Grill since she left for Chicago. Her body tensed and her teeth gritted; she could hear several hearts pumping louder and faster than usual, probably from the girls as they saw Stefan enter. Now many new guys, cute guys, would come and live in a place like Mystic Falls.

"Are you okay?" Stefan's soft voice broke her attention. Olivia's head snapped towards him, and all she saw was the concern in his eyes. To him, she probably looked really uncomfortable – and he'd be right.

"Y-Yeah," Olivia nodded after a moment, stammering out a response. She cleared her throat, trying to take her mind off the blood. "I guess I'm just not too good with crowds." She swallowed before taking a look around the room, over to the far side she saw her sister and Caroline standing together while Bonnie was sitting with Matt, Elena's Ex.

Suddenly Matt got up from his seat, heading towards them. As Matt approached, he looked over to Stefan, holding out a hand. "Hey, I'm Matt." He introduced himself with civility, "Nice to meet you."

Matt had no grudge towards Olivia since it had been Elena that dumped him. But the two of them were very good friends, Matt could turn into an older brother at times when it came to Olivia.

"Hi." Stefan shook his head, looking polite, "I'm Stefan."

Then Matt turned to Olivia, smiling a little relieved, "It's good to see you out and about." He said, and before she could stop him, he pulled her into a hug – and just like with Caroline, it was hard not to tense. Matt hadn't gotten a chance to really talk to her during school, she kept disappearing and reappearing again for class.

"It's good to be out, Matty." She lied just a bit, letting out a deep breath to calm her bloodlust.

He pulled away, giving one last nod to Stefan before walking the other way towards Tyler.

Before Stefan could ask once again if she were okay, Olivia pointed out the table they were going to be sitting at – so he followed.

~ 8 ~

"So you were born in Mystic Falls?" Caroline was questioning Stefan constantly. She wanted Olivia to take in every juicy detail she was able to get from the mystery guy.

"Mm-hm." Stefan nodded, sitting opposite Caroline while the other three girls sat around him – but he made sure to get the seat next to Olivia. The brunette had calmed down from before, no longer feeling completely overwhelmed by the dozens of pumping hearts. "I moved when I was young."

"Parents?" Bonnie took over. They were all equally interested about Stefan, more so that he seemed to be interested in Olivia.

Olivia wasn't the dating type of girl, in fact, she's never dated anyone in her life. She was still a lonely virgin. It wasn't that she didn't want to date someone and have a relationship – she just wanted to be with _that_ special person. And now, she literally had forever to find that right person.

Lexi had mentioned once that being a vampire not only intensifies your senses but your personality too. Maybe that's why she had become more closed in and shy over the last couple of months – because really, that's how she always felt inside when she was human.

Stefan looked down for a moment, his features clouding sadness, "My parents passed away."

Olivia looked at him with sympathy in her eyes when he turned to her, "I'm sorry." She said with complete understanding. "Do you have any siblings?"

"None that I talk to." He answered back, this made Olivia frown. 'None that I talk to'? so does that mean he does? But he just never contacts them? "I live with my Uncle." For a moment the two seemed to connect, they stared into each other's eyes.

"So, Stefan." Elena broke the bond, looking at him curiously as he turned to her. "If you're new then you don't know about the party tomorrow."

Bonnie grinned, remembering that, "It's a back-to-school thing at the falls." She explained.

Stefan seemed to like the idea, so he turned to Olivia, "Are you going?" He stared at her, waiting for an answer.

"Of course she is." Caroline spoke for her, grinning.

Olivia tried to smile and she did, but there was something else hidden behind it. Fear. A party with drunk kids – and usually drunk kids do stupid things and hurt themselves = blood. She swallowed, would she be able to stop herself if something were to happen?

 **Follow, Fav and Review!**


	4. 1-3 Party at the Falls

**Vampire Diaries Fanfic | Dawn of a New Day | Pilot – Part 3**

It felt like da-ja-vu when Olivia found herself in History again, listening to the worst teacher this School has every employed. Mr. Tanner was once again going over the same material they went through yesterday – who could obviously see how painful it was to listen because he just loved to torture his students.

"The Battle of Willow Creek took place at the end of the war in our very own Mystic Falls." Mr. Tanner paced around his desk, his eyes darting around the room to find his text target and evident victim. "How many casualties resulted in this battle?" He questioned before his eyes set on Bonnie, "Miss Bennett?"

Bonnie jumped in her seat, her head springing up - her attention going from the doodles in front of her to Mr. Tanner. "Uh … a lot?" She winced seeing the teacher's eye twitch. "I'm not sure, like a whole lot." She tried to be cool, and even though it got several chuckles from her fellow students, Mr. Tanner didn't look amused at all.

"Cute becomes dumb in an instant, Miss Bennett." Mr. Tanner retorted, breaking her 'playing it cool' façade. It was slightly surprising that no parents have reported him for some of the things he's said to his students over the years.

Olivia had to clench her fists, unknowingly snapping her pencil at the same time – one day that man was going to go to far.

"Mr. Donovan." Matt began his next stop; he looked up to see the teacher staring at him, almost a smirk playing on his lips. "Would you like to take this opportunity to overcome your jock stereotype?"

Matt waved him off coolly, "It's okay, Mr. Tanner." Matt smirked to himself, "I'm cool with it." This definitely got a lot more laughs from the students, but they tried to hide it not wanting to face the wrath of Tanner.

Mr. Tanner finally looked over to Olivia finally with a smirk, thinking she wouldn't know the answer. Olivia never tried to participate in his classes, especially now that she was a vampire who could snap his neck at any wrong word. "Olivia." He drawled, grinning like a Cheshire Cat.

Olivia was still looking at him, not turning away. He didn't scare her.

"Surely you can enlighten us about one of the town's most historical events."

Olivia took a second to answer but she could feel everyone looking at her, it made her feel uneasy. "346 casualties unless you're counting the civilians too." She said in a stony tone.

Tanner smirk faltered only slightly, but it returned when she said the last part about civilians. "Well, it's a good thing you're not using your summer excuse for not catching up with the homework. But, of course, there were no civilian casualties in this battle."

Olivia was just about to retort with a stony glare when Stefan took over, defending her statement, "Actually I agree with her – there were 27 in total." Tanner's head snapped over to him, his eyes narrowing as Stefan continued, "Confederate soldiers fired on the church, believing it to be housing weapons."

Everyone in the room was now looking between Stefan and the teacher, and if Olivia didn't know better, she'd have though steam was flying out of Tanner's ears. She suddenly snorted under her breath at the thought, looking down to hide her smile – the tensing fist now loosening.

"But they were wrong," Stefan was staring at Tanner, almost daring the man to make a counter attack. "It was a night of a great loss."

Suddenly everything went silent.

"And you name is-?" Tanner narrowed his eyes, never seeing the kid before. If he had, the boy would have been thrown down a peg or two before today.

"Stefan Salvatore." Stefan answered, not looking bothered. It looked like he had some more left in him.

Tanner's eyebrows then raised in surprised, "You're related to the original Founders?"

"Distant." Stefan was vague, but then finished what he really wanted to retort and he knew everyone would love it. He didn't really like this teacher either after some of the things he's said – especially when it seemed like Olivia was trying really hard not to smack his head off in front of the class. "For more information you should check out the Founder's achieve in the Civil Hall – especially if you need to brush up on your facts ... Mr. Tanner." He internally smirked at the look on the teachers face. If a glare could kill someone … he'd be dead, again.

As Tanner shifted uncomfortably, several mutters and giggles echoed in the room at the comeback. Stefan looked over to where Olivia sat, she was looking down with her hand covered over her mouth, her shoulders shaking – when he realised she was trying her hardest not to laugh, he smiled secretly to himself with pride that he could make her feel better.

~ 8 ~

"You need to wear something cute, Liv." Elena told her sister, rummaging through the cupboard in her twin's room. Lucky for Olivia, she had hidden the mini fridge under the bed after realising what Elena was going to do, it was a tight fit, but it worked. Elena had been so close to finding it – and that thought alone was disastrous.

Olivia was sat on her bed, arms wrapped around her legs as she watched her twin dive into the clothes storage. "Why can't I just wear what I usually do?" She questioned, it was bad enough going to that party - why couldn't she just wear clothes she was comfortable in?

Elena huffed in annoyance, grabbing a skirt. "Because…" She drawled, "…Stefan Salvatore is into you – he likes you! Even a blind person could see it!" Although in reality, they really couldn't see anything.

The thought of Stefan alone made Olivia smile and suddenly, she couldn't wait to see him at this party. "What have you got?"

Elena smirked to herself in the victory. She threw over a black jean skirt that went down to Olivia's middle thigh and a blue satin sleeveless top that would be loose on her sister's figure. "Now go get ready, Bonnie's going to be here any second."

After sighing in defeat, Olivia did just that and got ready as fast as she could – without using her vampire speed.

~ 8 ~

Olivia wasn't feeling good, she didn't have a pleasant feeling as they were driving to the party – and now, standing in the middle of a crowd of drunken teenagers, she still didn't feel good. Her nerves were ticking, so many things could set her off. She was trying very hard not to crush the bottle of beer in her hand either – breaking that would raise a couple of questions, especially with this being a thick bottle.

"Just admit it, Liv." Bonnie was saying, bringing her back to reality.

"He's pretty, come on, even you have to think so." Elena pushed, nudging her sister in the shoulder. Neither of them really seemed to get that she wasn't really acting herself.

Olivia licked her bottom lip nervously, swallowing before trying to focus her attention back on the conversation. "Saying he's pretty makes him sound like a girl." She commented, think back to how she first reacted to seeing him back in the hallway. "I'd go with … hot." Her lip quirked despite the situation she's gotten herself in, just a little when Bonnie and Elena nodded their heads, impressed.

"He has that romance-novel stare." Bonnie continued before clearing her throat, making it go deeper as she semi-quoted a story line she read the other day, "Stefan looked deep into her eyes, piercing her very soul." Olivia started to chuckle a little with her sister, finding it a little easier to let herself go – she still glanced around her warily, though.

"I wonder where he is?" Elena inquired to no one in particular, looking around to see if she could notice the Mystery Guy in the crowds.

"Maybe he's just late." Liv suggested, shrugging it off. This area could become quite the maze if you didn't know your way around – sometimes it's even where she had to hunt to make sure no one would see.

"Oh," Elena's eyes lit up, looking to Bonnie. "You should try those psychic abilities – maybe you can see something?" She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

Olivia frowned, "Psychic?" She's never heard anything about that before, but then, she's been secluding herself from the group for the last couple of months.

Bonnie had only just realised that it had never been mentioned to Olivia, so she started to explain, "Grams has basically full-on told me I'm Psychic and a Witch."

"That's … cool." She replied, slowly. She didn't have a good feeling about this. This whole night seemed to be a bad feeling after another.

"You can use Liv's bottle as the crystal bottle."

"Right." And before Olivia could do anything, Bonnie had wrapped her hand around the bottle clutched in her hand – both Elena and she were startled when Bonnie's face went completely blank, void of emotion. And after a couple of seconds, the dark-skinned friend gasped back, acting almost as if she had run out of air. Elena was looking at her best friend with concern, wondering what had been seen.

The sisters could see the fear in Bonnie's eyes.

Olivia, on the other hand, was also starting to fear what was seen, and by the way Bonnie seemed to be looking at her – it scared her.

"Bonnie, what is it?" Elena questioned, seeing the girl in question staring at her sister.

Bonnie didn't answer, "What happened to you?" She breathed, staring at Olivia completely differently. And as if nothing had happened, she seemed to snap out of it by shaking her head and blinking in a confused manner. She looked between the sisters, inching away from them, "I-I'm gonna go get another beer."

"Bonnie!" Elena yelled, watching as Bonnie hastily started to walk away from them. She stared towards the retreating figure, confusion completely covering her face.

Olivia felt a pang in her heart – what had Bonnie seen? She seemed to be very Psychic to her.

Elena looked to her sister with a sigh, "I'm gonna go find Bonnie, you okay here on your own?"

Olivia gave her a fake smile, just wanting to leave this place honestly, "Yeah, sure, go ahead." Elena nodded before running towards the direction Bonnie had gone, leaving her sister alone in the middle, surrounded by several dozens of drunk kids. Olivia hadn't even touched her beer yet. She was so busy watching her sister run away, she hadn't even noticed, again, Stefan sneaking up on her from behind.

"Hi." Stefan's voice was enough to make her jump, spinning around to him. She looked at him startled with bewilderment. _How the hell does he keep sneaking up on me?_ She asked herself. It's almost a replica to how she sneaks up on her sister in the mornings.

As she finally recognised him standing there, she couldn't help but forget what had just happened and smiled a little. Happy that he had actually stuck to his word and come. "Hi."

Stefan seemed to realise he had startled her, "Sorry, I did it again, didn't I?" Referring to how he came out of nowhere.

Olivia nodded, relaxing a little, "Yeah." She chuckled slightly. But then what had just happened before popped back into her mind unwillingly, making her smile fade away – something of which Stefan could definitely see.

"You upset about something." He noted, watching as her happiness dimmed. He didn't get the chance to overhear what had been said for the last couple of seconds, Caroline had pulled him away to give him some very good advice on Olivia. He was grateful for the blonde but was now very interested in what could have upset the brunette.

"It's nothing, really." Olivia sighed, tiredly. There was so much going on with her lately that tiredness was actually getting to her, and she was a vampire now! The sound of a bottle smashing made her jump, she turned towards the noise, only to realise it was several yards away where a normal human shouldn't have been able to hear it. She tensed, again – this was getting ridiculous!

"Did you want to go for a walk?" Stefan suggested, seeing her tense up again. He knew what she had heard since he could hear it too – not that she knew that. He wanted to tell her, to help her but he was afraid that the moment he told her what he was also, that she wouldn't want to be near him.

Bloodlust was the hardest thing about being a vampire to deal with (other than the heightened emotions) – even he had to deal with it every single day.

Olivia loved that suggestion, she really had to get away from all these teenagers before she ripped a throat out. "God, yes."

~ 8 ~

Stefan walked her away from the party towards a small bridge. He was strolling by her side as they started making their way over a bridge suspended over the falls themselves.

"You know, your kind of the talk of the town." Olivia teased, feeling like she could actually breathe again. The party was far enough away so she could rest a little, and with Stefan being beside her, she realised that the thirst to bite his head off wasn't there. She wasn't interested in his blood – did that mean something?

Stefan chuckled, smiling over at her, "Am I?" It felt nice to talk to her, especially when she felt a lot more at ease around him and away from that party. Back at 'The Grill', he had seen something spark in her eyes when Caroline spoke for her and said that she'll go. He knew exactly what it had been – just seeing how she reacted to crowds both there and at school was enough to give him the answer.

From what he could tell and find out for himself – she's been a vampire for only a couple of months. He reckoned around the time she went on that trip to Chicago as it was about the same time she started acting differently around everyone.

"Mm-hm." She nodded, having the same look on her face, "You're the 'Mysterious New Guy'."

"You seem to have the 'Mysterious' thing going for you too." He countered, looking interested. He did see her smile dimming a little, "But twinged in sadness."

It took a moment for her to reply, but eventually she did, "What makes you think I'm sad?" She questioned, not touching the 'mysterious' part. "You barely know me."

"Because I can see it in your eyes." He told her, giving her a sad smile as she stared back at him, letting him continue. "And I guess, I'm just good at reading people, especially you."

They stopped in the middle of the bridge, looking over at the falls. "It's not exactly party chitchat." Olivia warned carefully, she didn't know why, but she felt like he could be told anything. She wasn't about to tell him her biggest secret, but, there was just something about him.

Stefan didn't seem to mind, "Well, I've never really been very good at chitchat." Olivia leant against the wooden bar of the bridge with a despaired sigh, twisting towards Stefan with a pain in her eyes he could actually understand. He did similarly the same in stance but placed his hands in his pockets – ready to listen and be there if she needed him.

"There's just been a lot of crap going on lately," She laughed humorously, turning back to the falls as even the laugh-less laugh ceased, "Last spring … my parent's car drove off of a bridge into the lake." She started to explain, "Elena was in the backseat – she had snuck out to a party, much like this one actually," She scoffed, "She survived and they died. No one knows how Elena was able to get out of that car, it was like someone had pulled her out before she died along with our parents. "

Suddenly it felt like tears were starting to appear under her eyelids, "And about a month before that, I got the chance to go to Chicago and it was amazing." She breathed at first, for the first week it truly had been spectacular. Until, _that_ time came. "But then it was ripped away from me, and something happened that I couldn't run away from, I'm still having a hard time dealing with it." Her voice slowly drifting into a mumble response.

Finally, after a moment, Olivia looked up to Stefan and he was still standing there much to her surprise. She kind of thought he'd realise how much baggage she really had and would walk away, never to talk to her again. But she was proved wrong and he wasn't leaving, he was just gazing at her with a sad but understanding look.

Stefan wanted so badly to hold her, to tell her everything was going to be okay. In his whole life (both human and undead), he's never felt a strong connection like this to anyone. And the more he found out about her, the more he got to know her – was the more he wanted to see her.

"You won't be sad forever, Olivia." He told her softly, almost as a comfort to her. "And whatever you're dealing with, it'll get easier. I'm sure of it." He would do anything he could to make that happen.

Olivia sent him a small but thankful smile, "I hope your right." Wanting to believe with all her heart that his words would come true. And being here beside him, it almost felt like it really could.

~ 8 ~

Olivia and Stefan were still on the bridge together a little while later, just talking.

"Caroline seems like a good friend." Stefan noted, thinking back to the advice and pointers the blonde had discreetly given him. And a threat saying that if he were to hurt, very bad things would come for him.

Olivia couldn't help but smile at the mention of Caroline, "She's the best friend anyone could ever ask for in my opinion."

Stefan discreetly gestured over to the side where he saw a familiar figure, "Matt also can't seem to take his eyes off us." Matt was standing around with Caroline, Bonnie and Elena – but he was indeed looking over to them.

Olivia looked over her shoulder to see this and she smiled a bit wider, "Yeah, Matts he's-" Trying to find the words to explain their relationship. She turned back to Stefan to explain, "Matt's always been like this protective figure for me, I guess. Like a non-related older brother … if that makes sense."

Stefan just wanted to double check, "So you and he never…"

"No way." Olivia shook her head immediately with a grimace, not being able to think along those lines. She never, ever thought about Matt like that, and never will. "He dated Elena until she broke up with him after the crash." She still couldn't' imagine them not being together, but it was her sister's choice – there was nothing to be done about that.

She suddenly glanced down at her watch and she stared at it in surprise, "Oh, wow, it's really late." Past midnight actually. Time had really flown.

Stefan looked at her curiously but a bit of disappointment sunk into his stomach - he didn't want her to go, "You have to get home?"

"Not really," Olivia shook her head – it was a Friday night so technically they could stay out until the early hours of the morning, but Jenna really didn't want a drunk Elena and Jeremy being brought back. She turned to Stefan with a sigh, not wanting to go ether now, but should probably do so. It felt weird that only a few hours ago she wanted to flee this place, but now she wanted to stay – with Stefan.

Expanding her hearing, she couldn't seem to pick up either Elena or Jeremy from where they were on the bridge – where had they got to?

"I should probably go find my brother and sister, though, especially Jeremy before he gets himself into trouble." She really didn't want to go back into that crowd, but unfortunately, she must brave through it. The quicker she went in, the quicker she would get out.

Stefan nodded, looking a little saddened but kept it under wraps, "I'll help you find them."

~ 8 ~

"They must be here somewhere." Olivia mused to herself, pushing her way through the crowds with Stefan beside her. She put all her effort into trying to hear or either smell one of her siblings. Mostly so she didn't have to focus on the groups of fresh bodies around her. But she couldn't seem to get a hook on either sibling. A little fear started to crawl up in her gut.

And just then, she finally picked up both her brother and sister's scent. But she also caught something else too, something that completely overpowered them by miles. Her hand shakily went over her mouth and clamping against it as the smell filled her senses, she stumbled back – she forced herself to not sprint towards the tantalizing smell.

Fresh … warm blood.

Stefan tensed up beside her but he didn't react as much to how she was – he looked over to her, and he knew immediately that she needed to get away from this place … and fast. He could start seeing small black veins crawling under her eyes … this wasn't good.

"Somebody, we need help!" Elena's voice was shouting in panic, "We need some help over here!"

"Vicki? Vicki! What the hell?!" Matt's voice hit them. A lot of talking went on, but the one thing neither Stefan nor Olivia missed was ' _It's her neck … something bit her … she's losing a lot of blood.'_

Even Stefan was having a hard time controlling his own bloodlust at this point, there was a lot of it judging by the thickness of the smell – but he didn't care about himself right now. He needed to help Olivia. He moved in front of her, "I'm gonna get you out of here." Grabbing her gently before guiding her away as quickly as he could, pushing past everyone who were trying to get a look at how Vicky looks.

"S-Stefan, y-you have to run." Olivia stuttered out, not being able to run away from him, she couldn't hold on much longer. She's never been that close to warm from the vein blood, especially that vast amount since the first time she turned. The is just … delicious. She wanted it so badly.

As soon as he was able to get Olivia as far away as he could, he moved to her front, grasping her cheeks gently, trying to get her to look at him properly and focus. She wasn't able to focus – she was trying so hard to hold on, not wanting to hurt Stefan, the only guy who's only ever really started to become interested in her.

"Hey, hey, look at me." Stefan spoke softly again, trying to gain her attention. Her face had full-on reverted into her vampire features, the black veins under her eyes were very dark with hunger. He knew exactly how to help her – showing her the ways Lexi had taught him.

Olivia was able to gain just enough control to do just that and what she saw made her gasp. Familiar little black veins were crawling down from his eyes, his eyes turning a deep shade of red and his parted lips showed fangs slowly getting longer.

"Y-You're a-" She tried saying, but she could still smell the blood and she clenched her eyes shut, her hands coming up to his and grasping them tightly. Tears began to gather in her eyes; it was becoming painful for her to fight this hard.

"Don't worry about that right now." Stefan told her, getting her back to point. "Just breathe and tell yourself you don't want that blood. When you feel that blood rushing to you, you tell yourself you're gonna get through it, that you're strong enough."

Olivia couldn't stop it, she started to cry and the dark veins got deeper. "Olivia you are the strongest person I've ever met – any other vampire your age with little help would have never been able to get through what have done." He stared into her eyes, "Trust me. You can do it, Olivia. Bury the bloodlust … watch me."

Olivia slowly opened her eyes back up, tears still streaming down her face, wanting to stop what was happening to her. She watched as he let out a soft breath and the veins started to fade away. "Just deep breathes."

Olivia shakily took in a deep breath before expelling it, telling herself she didn't want that blood. She could feel it working as her breathing began to labour, "That's it." Stefan started to smile, pushing her to succeed gently. "You're almost there." And slowly but surly, the veins and fangs on her face began to disappear and those beautiful hazel eyes he knew returned.

' _Oh, god'_. She thought horrified when the reality struck her, _'I had almost –'_ What had she turned into?

And suddenly, still being in Stefan's arm, she broke down. Everything that she's been keeping hidden inside, buried deep with to ignore was finally breaking down the dam. Seeing this, Stefan pulled her into his arms without hesitation, hugging her as she broke down against his shoulder. He tightened his grip around her almost protectively, wanting to share the burden she's now having to forcefully live with.

"Everything's going to be okay." He told her, letting her sob, "You're gonna be okay, Liv."

 **Note: So, that turned out differently from the episode, huh? I hope you guys loved it, though!**

 **Follow, Fav and Review!**

 **P.S - I LOVE knowing what everyone thinks of my stories! Wink, wink … nudge, nudge… lol**


	5. 1-4 A Brother Returns

**If the class hadn't been cancelled today; luckily avoiding a test, haha. I wouldn't have been able to get this up until next week or minimum by the end of the weekend if it hadn't.**

 **I've had so many views, favorites and follows that I'm literally jumping in my seat. I'm so excited that everyone seems to like my twist in the TV Series. Those things are what keep me writing honestly other than the inspiration I have for Movies and TV Shows.**

 **Thank you so much!**

 **Enjoy….**

 **Vampire Diaries Fanfic | Dawn of a New Day | Pilot – Part 4**

"So, you're a vampire." Olivia stated the obvious, breaking the silence. It had taken her a while to calm down and get her emotions back into check, and she was glad for Stefan to be here with her.

As they overheard the ambulance arriving at the falls, the two of them took a seat on the forest ground beside a large tree; Stefan wanted to make sure Olivia was going to be okay before going back near that place. There was probably still going to be blood covering areas of where the party had been.

Olivia couldn't believe it, but she also could. Of course, she'd become attracted to the only other vampire she's ever known about in Mystic Falls - it was just her dumb luck she imagined. She sat to the side of Stefan, looking forwards as she waited for a reply.

She didn't know whether to be happy that she wasn't alone anymore – or angry for him not telling her in the first place, he seemed to be able to handle his bloodlust pretty well as far as she could see.

"Yeah," He nodded sheepishly, shrugging a little, glancing over at her with a hesitant smile.

Olivia nodded to herself, still trying to process everything. Stefan just sat there patiently even though deep inside, he was thinking about what had happened to Vicky. She had been bitten in the neck … drained of blood. His heart pinched in dread when he really thought about it – only one person he knew loved to play games like this and all those other deaths lately, caused by 'Animal Attacks'. The person loved putting on a show and tonight was confirming his fear.

"Vicky was bitten by a vampire, wasn't she?" Olivia asked as if reading his thoughts.

Stefan came out of his thoughts, nodding to answer her question. "That's what I'm guessing, yeah." Not mentioning the vampire, he had in mind that could be doing this.

Olivia finally turned to him, looking at him warily, "It wasn't you was it?" She questioned hesitantly. She really hoped it wasn't.

"No." Stefan answered immediately in a very truthful manner, "I don't touch human blood."

She blinked in shock, "Ever?" How could he stay away from it completely? She couldn't go longer than a few days without at least a little bit mixed in with animal blood.

Stefan was about to reply but was stopped by a ringing sound coming from Olivia's jacket pocket. She frowned, looking down to her pocket before retrieving the machine from it. Looking at the scene, she saw Elena's face flash on the screen – her sister was calling.

' _Uh, oh'_ She thought wearily, they've probably realised by now she disappeared.

Pressing answer, she held the phone up to her ear, "Elena, what's up?"

"Liv, where the hell are you!" Elena shouted from the other line with anger and worry laced in her voice, effectively making the vampire's wince, Olivia had to pull the phone away from her ear a moment.

Olivia sighed, "I just needed to get away for a moment." She replied, but then realised she couldn't stay out here in the forest forever – she had to start making her way back.

Elena then went silent, before talking again. The anger had left her voice; it was now full of relief but still a hint of worry. "Well, you need to come back – Jenna's on her way to come pick us up. The ambulance just left with Vicky, she should be fine."

"That's good news, Lena and I'll be back in a couple of minutes." She glanced at Stefan, his ears seemed to pick up when Vicky was mentioned. She strangely didn't care that he was overhearing her conversation. It's not like she was really hiding anything else.

"Animal Control said the animal could still be close by, please hurry."

Olivia's lips quirked at the idea of an animal trying to kill her, but it would lose big time. "I'll be fine. See you soon." And with that she ended the call, letting out a breath before putting the phone away into its original spot.

Stefan looked at her carefully, "Are you okay to go back?" He questioned. Needing to know if she'll be okay on her own; he had to get back to the Boarding house and figure out if this third vampire was who he thinks he was.

She had to think about it before replying, but nodded slowly, "Yeah, I should be fine." She turned her head to him, smiling thankfully. If something did start building up the urge again, she could do the exercise he had showed her. It seemed to work like a charm.

Stefan sent her a smile, getting up off the ground before helping Olivia to her feet. She noticed him looking around, "Did you need to go somewhere else?" She silently hoped for a 'No' but didn't say anything.

He looked at her apologetically, "Yeah, I should probably try and figure out who this other vampire is."

Olivia stopped herself from looking disappointed but understood. This other vampire could be causing a lot of trouble for them. "Okay." She nodded, giving him a small smile.

"I'll come find you later." Stefan reluctantly lets go of her hands, "I Promise." He gave her one last look before disappearing with his vampire speed. Olivia had to blink for a moment to realise he had indeed disappeared. But she couldn't let the smile wipe off her face, he said he'd come find her later – he even promised. She hasn't felt this much better after an episode since, well … since she was human.

~ 8 ~

Stefan had returned back to the Boarding house within a couple of minutes with vampire speed, his undead heart was beating a mile a minute. As he reached the front door, he rushed through it and upon doing so, he noticed Zach sitting at his office desk in the side room. Zach looked up from his writing, frowning when he saw some underlining panic in the vampire's face.

"What's going on?" He inquired curiously, but with caution.

Stefan sent him a serious look, "Someone else was attacked tonight Zach, and it wasn't me." He answered, proving that he hadn't been the one to do these 'animal attacks' as the man had insinuated earlier that day. And before Zach could question him further about it, he sped upstairs to his room.

And as soon as he walked into his bedroom, he could almost instantly feel a change in the atmosphere. The double balcony doors were open and Stefan knew for a fact that he kept them closed all day, and Zach never came into his room unless he was there to be asked a question.

His eyes narrowed towards the balcony – someone was here.

SQUAWK.

Suddenly a crow flew in from the outside and Stefan's eyes followed its flight path, even as it perched up on one of the wood ceiling beams. Stefan now had his back to the balcony and at that moment, he felt a pair of eyes peering at him.

He already knew who it was; the only person he knew that loved playing games - the crow was a very good example of it.

As Stefan slowly turned around to the balcony doors; he was met by the familiar man he's been trying so hard to avoid. Effectively for over fifteen years but it looks like his luck had run out.

Damon Salvatore was standing there – his older brother.

Damon wore a cocky smirk on his lips, all dressed up in black and leather – his hair was longer than he had last seen, but all in all, Damon was still … Damon. He stood there confidently with a playful look in his eye that always meant death and destruction and not the other way around.

"Damon." Stefan said stonily, narrowing his eyes – his gut feeling was always right when it came to his brother, unfortunately.

Damon smirked wider, "Hello, brother." He drawled in return, tilting his head in amusement when he saw the glare coming from his younger sibling.

"The crow's a bit much, don't you think." Stefan commented, needing to find a way to get Damon out of town – especially before he found out about Elena and Olivia.

Damon didn't seem to think so, he started pacing around the room – picking up small things to fiddle with. He chuckled darkly, "Wait until you see what I can do with the fog." Licking his lips, thinking about that delightful woman from the tent. She had indeed been delicious, so … sweet.

"When'd you get here?" Stefan knew he couldn't just snap his brother's neck – the guy had human blood in his system, 'fresh from the vein' blood. That's even worse than bagged blood from the hospital.

Damon played with his words, "Well, now, I couldn't miss my little brother's first day of school … could I?" Raising an eyebrow before moving over to the shelving unit to the side now, fiddling with the spines of the books stacked there. He glanced over his shoulder, "Your hair's different. I like it."

Stefan gritted his teeth, "It's been fifteen years, Damon." He didn't want to take the chance that Zach would get hurt. Especially since every other Salvatore had been practically eradicated by Damon himself.

"Thank God." Damon said, sighing in fake relief, "I couldn't take another day of the nineties." He chuckled, "That horrible grunge look … did _not_ suit you. Remember, Stefan-" He sent his brother a teasing look as he stood up straight, putting his hands tied behind his back, practically rocking on his heels. "-It's important to stay away from fads."

"Why are you here?!"

Damon gave him a dumb look, but anyone could tell he was just messing around. "I missed my little brother."

"You hate small towns." Stefan stated, not believing him, not for one second. "It's boring. There's nothing for you to do."

Damon licked his lips hungrily, "Oh, I've managed to keep myself busy."

"You know," Stefan followed his every move, watching his every step, "You left that girl alive tonight. That's very clumsy of you." Pushing his hands into his pockets, feeling them tighten at his own mention of Vicki nearly bleeding to death. If Vicki hadn't been attacked by Damon tonight – Olivia wouldn't have nearly been destroyed by the hunger buried deep inside of her.

If Stefan hadn't been there; several dozens, including Olivia's siblings would have most likely have been dead by now. And then she would have included if anyone in town found out what she really was.

Stefan couldn't help but feel that there might be some kind of ulterior motive going on with his brother.

"Ah, yeah…" Damon put on a remembrance look, leaning himself against the chest of drawers over to the side, smirking once again, "That can be a problem for you…" His smirk widened a little more, "And Miss Olivia." He found it amusing when he saw how she reacted to Vicki's spilt blood veins – oh, it was priceless.

Stefan stopped himself from attacking his brother – Damon knew about Olivia, that must mean he knew about Elena too. "Why are you here now?"

"I could ask you the same question." Damon retorted back with a fake curiosity, "But I'm fairly certain I already know why it is you're here. Just two words, or well, just one in your case … Olivia."

Damon grinned, "And my reason … is Elena."

~ 8 ~

A little while later Olivia had found herself back at the Falls, making sure to keep enough away from where Vicki had been staying until the ambulance got there. She had to tense a little, but remembered what Stefan had taught her – and it worked. She didn't feel the immense bloodlust like before, even when there was a big patch of blood staining the table Vicki had been lying on.

While Elena was over to the side, talking with Bonnie – Olivia noticed Jeremy leaning against the wooden fence away from the area, just looking out into space. A bottle of beer in his hands.

Olivia slipped her hands into her pockets, making her way over to him. He didn't look over to her, but he registered the fact that she was now next to him.

"Gimme that." She stated, grabbing the half-drunken bottle and Jeremy watched with surprised and widened eyes when she gulped down the whole thing, right in front of him.

"Woah," Jeremy commented, blinking – did she really do that? "Who are you and what have you done with my older sister."

Olivia chuckled, swallowing the last of the beer before chucking the thing into the bushes – there were a couple of cops around too, it was best to get rid of the evidence quickly. She pushed herself up onto the fence so she could sit on it, her legs dangled underneath her. That beer tasted nice, especially since that was the first bit of alcohol she's actually had tonight.

"Oh, she's still here." She assured him, gazing over at the animal control and cops more than a few meters away. She could easily try and overhear all their conversations – but what was the point when she already knew what had actually bitten Vicky? "She's just sick of trying to be good right now."

"I kind of thought you'd go all ' _Elena_ ' on me. Ordering me to stop drinking and doing drugs." He scoffed to himself, remembering what Elena had said just a couple of minutes before Olivia came over to him.

"I could do that." Olivia nodded with a thoughtful look, but glanced at him with an understanding smile, "But then I already know that won't work." She sighed, now turning serious, "But Jeremy, I'm gonna give you some advice." Even though she wasn't really the best person when it came to role models, especially given her _condition_.

Jeremy then looked away, slightly annoyed because he rolled his eyes. Olivia sent him a look, making him stop.

"I get it – you're doing your own thing to deal. I understand because everyone deals in their own way." She paused, giving him a shrug, "You can already tell what mine was – becoming distant in more ways than one. But I'm always ready to listen, Jer. Whenever you're ready." As much as she wants to do an 'Elena' as he puts it, the idea wouldn't be wise, especially right now. Her brother was drunk and still trying to get his footing back together after what happened to Vicky … and with their parents.

It was then that she realised her brother was covered in blood, but she had a handle on it even as the bloodlust began rising again. She took a deep breath. _'You're okay'_ She imagined Stefan telling her, _'Just breathe and tell yourself you don't want that blood.'_ And she did it. The urge flew away like the wind and she didn't realise it, but a proud smile lifted on her lips. She was finally getting better. Although, it did help that it was dried up blood staining her brother clothes – it would have been ten times harder with fresher blood.

Jeremy just stared at her for a moment. See, this was the difference between Olivia and Elena. Olivia never forces him to do anything, she gives him the choice and that's one of the reasons as to why she his favourite. He gave her a small smile, seeing the old her start appearing. "Thank, Liv."

~ 8 ~

 _Dear Diary,_

 _Wow, these last few days have been confusing … hard … and amazing, all at the same time. I made it through my first day of school without killing everyone and I even went to 'The Grill', and still, I didn't go over to my dark side._

 _But at this party tonight, Dairy. I nearly did and the guilt keeps crushing me about it - but mostly I'm just trying not to think about it at all._

 _I keep trying to see the bright side to all of this, and it can be summed up in one word. Stefan._

 _There was a mystery guy at school who started in our year and honestly, he puts the mystery IN the mystery guy. Today at the Fall's party, if it wasn't for him, I probably wouldn't be alive right now. Stefan save me. He stopped me from becoming the demon I'm trying so hard to resist._

 _Those few moments we've spent together as little as they were, both yesterday and today. I didn't feel the bloodlust, it's like I almost forget about it when I'm in his presence. I thought it was just because he's a vampire … but … maybe it could be something more?_

 _I thought I could get through this alone and just hide away in fear of hurting someone. But that's not living; just because I'm technically dead ... doesn't mean that I should act like it._

 _I have my brother to think about, my sister to think about and even my Aunt. They need me to be who I was; the Olivia Gilbert they knew and loved again._

 _It was time to heal … and that's now my goal._

Olivia suddenly felt someone watching her again, she got the same feeling she had the other times this person had been staring at her. She paused in her writing, looking up before turning to see outside her window. She had been sitting on her mini window seat wearing a pair of joggers and a tank top, the things she'd usually wear for bed.

She stared at the pair of eyes, and a smile instantly formed on her lips. It was Stefan.

Putting aside her journal, she made her way downstairs knowing he'd meet her at the front door. When she opened the door, Stefan stood there looking at her with relief in his eyes. It was almost as if he were checking her over to see if she were okay.

"Hi." Olivia smiled. He kept his promise, she was beginning to wonder if he had forgotten about it. It was nearly the early hours of the morning by this time.

Stefan gave her a real smile, glad to just see her, "Hey, I just wanted to check up and see if you were okay." He stood there, pushing his hands into his pockets.

It was those words again 'Are you okay?' She was really starting to hate that sentence.

"You know; people have been constantly asking me that ever since I got back from Chicago." Olivia leaned herself against the doorway, looking up at him.

"What do you tell them?" Stefan wondered curiously.

"Along the lines of that, I'll either be okay or that I'm just fine." She answered with a sad smile, she couldn't count how many times she's had to actually say those lies. There were too many occasions.

"Do you ever mean it?"

Olivia thought about it for a second, "Ask me tomorrow." She requested.

Suddenly Elena trotted down the stairs, groaning and holding her head. Like Jeremy, she had a bit too much to drink and now her head was pounding. Elena looked up, squinting her eyes, "Oh, hey, Stefan." She smiled seeing him there, forgetting about her blinding migraine.

Elena discreetly sent a wink to her sister. "You should come in, it's a bit cold out there." She said before walking into the kitchen, probably to find herself some headache tablets and a glass of water.

"Do you want me to come in?" Stefan looked back at Olivia, asking her personally. He had the proper invite, but he wanted her to say it.

Olivia nodded, honestly thankful that Elena had indeed done so as she couldn't do it herself. Stefan being a vampire made it impossible for her to actually properly invite him in. "I'd love for you to come in, Stefan." That'll give her a chance to ask more about him – it's a good thing they didn't really need sleep as vampires; they could just stay up for however long they wanted now.

 **Fav, Follow and Review!**


	6. 2-1 A New Start to the Day

**On Wednesday, this story had nearly 600 views – just in one day! Wow, lol.**

 **There's going to be a few changes through the beginning episodes since Olivia knows about Stefan being a vampire, and that she's a vampire herself. I just hope you guys like it!**

 **There's also going to be a note at the end of this chapter that you might be interested in.**

 **Vampire Diaries Fanfic | Dawn of a New Day | Night of the Comet – Part 1**

 _Dear Diary,_

 _Usually, when I wake up in the mornings I'm gasping for air, snapping out of nightmares that plague my mind, my soul – the devil inside of me. But this morning … I felt different. Not only did I not wake up in terror, but I_ felt _different. I can sense a change, I can feel it and almost taste it in a non-weird way. And, for the first time in a long time – I feel happy that the morning's come, and surprisingly, I can't wait to get to school._

 _For once I don't fear what the day might entail. Since my turning, all I've dreaded was leaving my room and the hunger for blood inside me would become too strong for me to handle. But I don't feel that way today … I feel … alive._

 _Because I know … I will see him again._

KNOCK. KNOCK.

Olivia knocked on the front door of the Salvatore Boarding house, her arms rung together in front of her nervously. It was only this morning that she remembered about what happened to Vicki – she was bitten by a _vampire_. So, before school, she decided to see if Stefan had found out anything since last night when they talked. Even though they could have stayed up for hours last night, it was decided that they would see each other at school because there were people in the house that really did need sleep.

Not that they would have cared too much.

Olivia thought back to last night while she waited for someone to answer the door; Stefan sure wasn't like the other guys in Mystic Falls, but he was much more reserved. She could tell that there was a lot he was holding back, which was fine with her … for now. But eventually, she hoped he would trust her to know because whenever she sees him – there's a connection she really couldn't deny. And from the look in his eyes on several occasions, he could sense it too.

She was jolted out of her headspace when the door opened with a creek and she was surprised to see someone she didn't often notice in town. Zach Salvatore. The only times she had ever really seen him was at the Founder's Parties when he decides to go. The guy was somewhat of a loner in Mystic Falls. She never really knew why, but thinking about it, maybe it's because on of his relative was a blood-sucking vampire?

He was obviously surprised to see her too as he raised an eyebrow to her, "Olivia?" Suddenly a small tense ran through his body when he realised it really was her. Olivia noticed this but didn't call it out. "What are you doing here?" He asked, cautiously.

"Uh," She started, slowly eyeing the way he shifted nervously. "I was just … looking for Stefan."

"He's not here right now." He replied with a crispy note, his hand clenching the doorway bar, "I would say you could wait inside for him, but then that would mean I'd have to invite yet another vampire into my home."

Olivia's eyes widened with an underline of panic, "Y-You know?" Did Stefan tell him? Zach was human from the smell of him, but there was something different about him. He didn't smell very nice like others do.

Zach gave her a sarcastic smile, "I live with one already." But when he saw Olivia flinch a little in fear, he stopped and just stared at her for a moment. From what Stefan had mentioned, she hadn't actually done anything wrong, but all he could see was the girl who loved to draw and hang around with her younger brother. He would never have thought she'd be turned into one of those monsters … especially her.

"You can come in."

Olivia stopped and her head raised in complete surprise, but most of all bewilderment. Did he just?

"Yes, I did just say that." Zach said, a little annoyed. Olivia obviously hadn't realised she had said that out loud.

Olivia couldn't help but slump her shoulders a little in relief, but kept herself cautious. She knew of Zach Salvatore, but she didn't really know him – for all she knew, he could stake her when her back next turns. She decided to give him the benefit of the doubt, though.

Zach looked down at his watch, it was close to school time for both Stefan and Olivia. "You should probably get to school," He said, Stefan must have gone straight there. "He probably went straight to school after his hunt." Although Stefan now hunted animals and only drank from them, it did always give him _some_ uneasiness. But Damon was the one he really did fear inside, because of him, he couldn't even have a family to come home to every day.

Olivia looked down at her own watch, cursing inside. "Damn it." It really was getting tight for time and it didn't help that the first lesson was with Tanner; she wanted to skip but knew it wouldn't be wise. She looked up at Zach with a small hesitant smile, "Thanks, Zach." She told him gratefully, referring to the invite. With Zach being the only living relative, he had the only power to invite a vampire in. Something of which he obviously knew.

"Just go." Zach waved her off, and just as he said this, a small wind flashed before him. Olivia was nowhere to be found; she ran off with vampire speed through the forest. He couldn't help but just stare out towards the forest, shaking his head. He couldn't understand how someone like Olivia could end up being turned into a vampire, she was apart of one of the founding families. It just surprised him, and he even felt sorry for her. No one should have to be turned against their will, especially someone who had a full life ahead of them.

He just hoped she'd stay the same as things get harder.

~ 8 ~

As soon as she got to school, Olivia had to straight away make her way towards the first lesson. It wouldn't help her if she happened to get a detention in the first week back at school, especially from Tanner. (Whom of which was on her short-temper list as it was)

So, now, Olivia was sat in her designated seat a few rows over from Stefan's – whom was also in class. Zach had been right, it looked like he must have come straight to school after hunting. Come to think of it, she hasn't had any blood today – it was a good think there was a small thermos of human blood in her bag, otherwise she wouldn't be doing so good. She'd have to remember to have some when class was over - she was starting to get a little antsy inside. Not good.

Olivia and Stefan were sharing glances with each other as the teacher droned on, "Originally discovered nearly 5 centuries ago, it hasn't been over Mystic Falls in over 145 years." Speaking of the Comet that was to pass over the town soon.

"Now, the Comet will be at it's brightest right after dusk - during tomorrow's celebration." Tanner suddenly paused, seeing the glances two of his students were exchanging. He raised an eyebrow, looking between the two with a daring look, "Are we bothering you, Mr. Salvatore." He turned to Olivia, "Miss Gilbert?"

Olivia looked up, a little startled but kept her cool. She gave him a fake smile, shaking her head – basically saying 'no'.

Suddenly the school bell went off, signalling the end of lesson 1 and Olivia couldn't be gladder to hear that ring.

~ 8 ~

"I told you." Stefan said with a grin, holding out a book in particular that Olivia had been saying was of interest to her last night. One of the things that had been talked about was the subject of books, on what kinds of things each of them had read. It was one big interest they seemed to share, among other things.

They were currently walking down the hallway towards their next class; luckily the blood she had in her bag was in a thermos so she didn't have to run to the bathroom to drink it. She got through it quickly, though, not wanting to make it hard for Stefan. He had gone through briefly last night about the fact that he didn't drink human blood anymore – all he said is that it makes him a different person. One that he didn't like or want to be.

"'Wuthering Heights' by Ellis Bell." Olivia read the title with an excited beam, accepting the book into her hand. She had her other school books held in her other arm, her bag slung over her shoulder. "I can't believe you actually have this; it's the first edition too!" Actually, she could _kind of_ believe it, especially now that she knew he was actually a vampire. It had been quite the shocker when she actually found out how old he was … but it wasn't too bad since Lexi had been a lot older.

 _Olivia chuckled, leaning back into the sofa with her legs folded underneath her. She had a mug of coffee in her hand while Stefan did the same, they were having fun getting to know each other – but making sure Jeremy, Elena or Jenna couldn't actually hear about the things they were talking about. They would probably sound crazy if anyone human heard the subject they were talking about._

" _Now, there's one thing that's been bothering me." Olivia started, putting her elbow on the top of the sofa, her head leaning against the back of her palm with wonder. "How old are you?"_

 _Stefan's mouth quirked, "17."_

 _Olivia rolled her eyes, a smile still on her lips, "Okay," She nodded, before continuing. "I'll rephrase that – how long have you been 17?"_

" _I've been 17 since 1864." Stefan answered, watching as Olivia's eyebrows raised in surprise._

" _Wow…"_

"You know; I can't believe she didn't actually use her real name."

Stefan had an answer for her, liking the look she had the moment he showed her the book. "All the Bronte Sisters used pseudonyms. It was a time when female writers weren't very accepted then."

"Well, it's a good thing it's not like that anymore." Olivia commented, glancing over at him with a smile, "Otherwise there probably wouldn't be as many amazing books today."

He nodded, "Agreed."

Olivia passed him back the book, "Where did you actually get this?" She asked curiously.

Stefan sighed, glancing at the book, "There had been a time when the only way to think about something other than _you know what_ was through reading. It took my mind off things." He held the book back out to her, "Here, I have lots of books. You can keep it."

Olivia looked up at him shocked but knew she couldn't keep something as precious as a first edition … especially this book. "No, I can't." She denied, but, she really did want to read it again – especially a first edition which is a very rare occasion. "But, I would love to read it again." Looking a little guilty as she sort-of turned back on her previous statement.

Stefan didn't seem to mind because he just chuckled, amused, just liking how interested she looked. She gently grabbed the book back, "I promise I'll give it back."

"Okay." But he didn't mind if she did indeed keep it.

~ 8 ~

"I went to the Boarding house this morning to find you." Olivia told Stefan as they both sat on one of the picnic tables outside. It was currently lunch time and everyone was outside on this nice, warm day.

A spark of panic seemed to flash in Stefan's eyes, but he hid it quickly, "You did?"

Olivia nodded, in the middle of eating a sandwich she had made this morning. It was nice to have some human food at times, and it's not like vampires couldn't actually eat it. "But you weren't there – Zach answered the door." She swallowed before looking up into his eyes, "Why did you tell him about me, you know, the ' _what I am'_?" She didn't mind too much now – the guy could obviously be trusted no matter how much he seemed to hate vampires. His own family was a vampire and it's not like she went around killing people for the fun of it.

Stefan looked at Olivia closely, noticing that she didn't seem angry about it. He began to explain, "It's been years since I've visited Mystic Falls, it's something that I would do every now and then. But the last time I stayed for an extended period of time … ended up with people hurt – he needed to be assured that nothing bad was going to happen." He paused, looking down for a moment, "When I realised what you were and how much you were struggling, I couldn't just leave. I wanted to know you, to get to know you better. And I don't regret the decision to stay."

Olivia blinked in surprise, the next bite of her sandwich floating in the air with her hand. "You stayed because of me?" Feeling a fluttering inside her heart.

Stefan scratched his head, a little embarrassed, "Yeah."

Olivia was about to tell him that Zach had actually invited her in, but Matt's voice and her sister's floated into her attention span – the words spoken got her to stop.

" _They're keeping her overnight to make sure there's no infection,"_ Matt was telling Elena. Stefan seemed to pick up the conversation too, both of them began listening intently from their spot on the bench. Olivia had completely forgotten her sandwich at this point. _"But she should be able to come home tomorrow."_

Olivia could almost imagine the relieved smile on her sister's face, _"That's good news."_ But she was glad too – Jeremy had been really worried about her last night. It made her wonder if there was something more going on between them. Although, that wasn't something a sister wanted to be thinking about when it came to a sibling.

" _Yeah."_

" _Did you get in touch with your mom?"_ Elena questioned.

Olivia subtly glanced over to see what Matt's face looked like, she knew when it came to his mom – he never went into a good mood. And as expected, he had a sarcastic smile on his face. " _I called and left a message yesterday."_ He answered _, "She's in Virginia Beach with her boyfriend. So … we'll see how long it takes her to come rushing home."_ Olivia was always angry at the mention of that woman too; all the responsibilities that a parent should have were dumped on him, a 17-year-old boy who's trying to get through high school.

" _Vicki's lucky that's she okay."_ Elena commented, remembering back to all the blood that had been spilled at the party. It was quite a shock she was still alive by how much blood she had actually lost.

"I know," Matt nodded, looking relieved. His sister could have died out in that forest, and then he would have literally been left all alone. As troublesome having Vicki as a sister was with all her _extra curricular_ activities … she was still his little sister. _"And now there's talk of some missing campers."_

Olivia's eyebrows creased, she hadn't heard of that before. Maybe watching the news wouldn't be such a bad thing – but other than that, did that mean this vampire had killed Mystic Falls residents? Not just hurt like Vicki?

" _Did she say what kind of animal it was that attacked her?"_

Matt let out a huffed chuckle, the tone of it a disbelieving one. " _She said it was a vampire."_

Both Olivia and Stefan tensed this time, hearing that one last word – Vicki must have remembered. Stefan started to plan something in his head – there was no way he was going to let Vicki run around saying it was a vampire that had attacked her because if she did, he and Olivia really wouldn't have a chance at being safe in this town anymore – no thanks to Damon. He needed to do the one thing that would protect them both which didn't involve killing – he could never do such a thing to someone innocent.

" _What?"_ Elena's tone also set in a non-believing manner.

" _Yeah,"_ Matt nodded, understanding what she was feeling. _"She wakes up last night and mutters 'vampire' before passing out again."_

Elena frowned, _"Okay, that's weird_." She stated.

" _I think she was drunk."_ He tried to explain to himself, it would make sense as the idea of a vampire running amongst them was very stupid and delusional suggestion.

Olivia was about to ask Stefan what he was going to do; seeing something flash in his eyes. But Matt saying her name caught her attention.

" _So what's up with Liv and the new guy."_

Olivia couldn't help but roll her eyes despite the situation, she could hear the protective tone appearing in his voice. She made sure her head was turned away by now, but she could feel both sets of eyes watching her from their spot on the other side of the school yard.

Elena smiled slightly, looking at how her sister was sitting next to Stefan. _"Olivia hasn't said anything but she's different, in a good way."_ She shook her head, _"I haven't seen her acting quite this happy since she left for Chicago."_ Olivia couldn't help it, but she tensed at the reminder of the city of her turning.

Stefan seemed to sense this, so he placed a hand over hers, giving her a look that said 'It's okay'.

" _Did you ever find out what happened to her?"_ It had been plainly obvious to anyone with eyes that the trip changed Olivia, and not in a good way. No one seemed to be able to figure out what happened.

" _No."_ Elena shook her head sadly, " _I didn't want to push her away and that's what it felt like I was doing every time I asked."_ She shrugged, looking over to Matt with a look of acceptance. _"I'm just happy she's finally starting to become herself again."_

As Elena and Matt continued to talk, Olivia focused her attention back onto Stefan. He seemed to look uneasy about something.

"Stefan, what is it?" She questioned.

Stefan's gaze snapped over to her, coming out of his stupor, "I have to make her forget." He said, referring to Vicki. "If Vicky keeps talking about a vampire attacking her – it won't end well."

Olivia watched as he started to stand while taking he hand away from hers, "You're going to compel her, aren't you?" She realised.

Stefan didn't seem to like the sound of it either, but it's something that must be done. "I have to." And Olivia knew that too, but it didn't mean she had to like it. Vicki wasn't exactly her most favorite person in the world since she's partly the reason her brother had indeed turned to drugs to deal with his problems. But, she would rather stay alive than be pinned down by a stake through the heart.

"Okay." She relented. "But be careful." He was to be going into a hospital, somewhere that has blood basically everywhere you turn. It was enough to get through the hallways for her to refill her stash but he had a much better control on blood than she did, so she didn't worry too much.

Stefan sent her a small smile, reassuring her the best he could, "I will." Before he walked away.

 **Note: This is pretty much just a small warning for this story in particular but I've decided that it's only going to last up until the end of Season 6. I'm honestly not going to touch Season 7 and I'm not even going to bother watching it because of how bad (in my opinion) it looks. But I do love the fact that Stefan and Caroline are getting together! Amazing! But apparently their to be split up so Valerie will be with Stefan …. WHAT! As you can see, I don't particularly find Valerie a very good character.**

 **I was like, "Forget that … I'm done."**

 **Anway…**

 **Follow, Fav and Review!**


	7. 2-2 Damon Salvatore?

**Vampire Diaries Fanfic | Dawn of a New Day | Night of the Comet – Part 2**

Olivia was sitting slouched in one of the outdoor chairs at 'The Grill' after school with Elena, Bonnie and Caroline. She was supposed to be helping fold the flyers that were supposed to be given out to the townspeople, but her mind was really somewhere else. Stefan hadn't gotten back to her yet and she didn't know what was happening. Has he compelled Vicki yet? Was he even able to?

Olivia couldn't help but still be on edge, not just by the amount of people around today, but because of Bonnie.

Bonnie hadn't looked her in the eye yet, almost like she was avoiding her. And although they weren't as close as she and Caroline were, it hurt. Olivia couldn't help but be both worried and interested in what Bonnie had actually either seen or felt when the bottle altercation happened last night.

"Well, I was talking to grams…" Bonnie was saying, folding her own leaflet before putting it into the pile, ready for another. "…and she said the Comet is a sign of impending doom. The last time it passed over Mystic Falls, there was lots of death. So much blood and carnage, it created a bed of paranormal activity."

' _That sounds interesting'_ Olivia thought to herself, frowning. She did remember reading about a lot of deaths occurring around that time and with the supernatural indeed real, maybe what Bonnie's Grams was saying … was the truth?

Caroline didn't seem to find it real, though, just plain amusing. "Yeah, and then you poured Grams another shot and she told you about the aliens." She rolled her eyes making Bonnie huff indigently but then turned her attention back to Olivia who had said barely anything about her talk with Stefan last night. Elena had secretly mentioned to both Caroline and Bonnie that she had invited Stefan to come in, leaving him in her sister's care. "So, then what?" Caroline pushed for details from her best friend.

Olivia sighed, finishing the folding of the flyer she had been holding for the past five minutes. "So, then nothing."

Caroline raised an eyebrow, not looking completely sure she believed. "You and Stefan talked … all night?" She paused, narrowing her eyes in suspicion. "There was no sloppy first kiss or touchy feely of any kind?"

Olivia was the one to roll her eyes this time, "Okay, one – I'm not just going to go around getting sloppy with a guy. And two – like I said before, we _just_ talked."

"Not even a handshake?"

"Nope." Putting the emphasis on the 'P'. Bonnie and Elena were just watching, feeling a little amused by how Caroline was actually talking. Everyone at the table knew Olivia had never been with a guy, let alone kissed one. She's probably the only virgin in this town left that's their age.

Caroline looked exasperated, "Come on, Liv!" She tried, "We are your friends!" There had to be _something_ worth hearing that wouldn't make her best friend sound like such a virgin. "Okay, you are supposed to share the smut."

"But there wasn't any smut, Caroline." Olivia answered calmly but felt herself sigh in the process.

Caroline groaned, "Okay, what is with the blockage?" She muttered, before turning serious again. "Just jump his bones already! I mean, it's easy … boy likes girl … girl likes boy = sex. Besides, you need to get yourself out there and Stefan is the _perfect_ guy for you."

Elena chuckled, "Profound, Caroline." Even Bonnie's lips quirked.

As the three of them began to talk to one another again, leaving Olivia in her headspace, she began to really think. Did she really find herself liking Stefan, like … _that?_ The answer; yes, that could be what she's been feeling since meeting him. They had common interests and they didn't have to keep the fact that they're vampires a secret from each other … he seemed to like spending time with her. So, why wasn't she doing something about it? Why was her mind so insistent on staying single, it's not like she had to worry about drinking him dry or wondering if he liked her or not?

And from what she could tell – he seemed to like her more than a friend would. Otherwise, he probably wouldn't have stayed in Mystic Falls … because of her.

And at that moment … her mind was set.

"Where are you going?" Bonnie was the one to ask as the three of them watched when Olivia got up from her chair, throwing her bag over her shoulder. A look of determination set in her features.

Olivia glanced over to her with a smile, "Caroline's right." Surprising them all by her admittance, "I need to stop acting like such a wimp and do something about the fact I've never had a romantic guy in my life. If I stay here long enough, I'll just convince myself not to go ... so, I'm going."

Caroline watched with her grin on her lips, seeing Olivia walk away from 'The Grill' in a fast pace. She sat back, looking smug with pride – Stefan was doing wonders for that girl.

~ 8 ~

It felt like only a few minutes had gone by the moment Olivia found herself on the front porch of the Salvatore Boarding house. This morning flashed through her mind once but it went away as she knocked on the door, but unlike this morning, the door was already an inch open. So when she knocked, the door just opened a little wider.

Olivia frowned, a little uncertainty creeping into her gut. She tried listening with her vampire hearing to see if anyone was home – but she couldn't hear any breathing. Zach obviously wasn't home and she didn't know if Stefan was there, vampires don't really have to breathe so she probably wouldn't have been able to pick him up anyway.

Without listening to the uneasy feeling in her gut, she pushed the door open just a little wider, just enough so her body could just about poke through – she had already been invited in, so there was no barrier keeping her outside.

"Stefan?!" She called loudly, knowing that if he were here – he should have answered. But no answer came.

Over to the side, she noticed Stefan's school bag sitting on one of the chairs and she frowned deeper. She walked in a little more, "Stefan?!" She called again, maybe he hadn't heard her?

It was only then that she really took in the sight of the inside décor, "Wow." She breathed, looking up and around – the place looked ancient but in a good way. Everything looked old … very old. It was amazing.

Suddenly a creaking sound hit her ears, causing her to spin around in the direction of where it came from. The front door – it was now opened wide, not how she had left it before. The wind couldn't have opened it to that extent because there was no wind today. She narrowed her eyes, trying harder to listen out – someone was here, she was sure of it. But at this moment, she didn't believe it to be Stefan.

She was trying so hard to figure out if there was anyone else in the Boarding house, that she didn't realise until a screeching sound appeared out of nowhere – a crow flew past her, making her jump nearly out of her skin. But then the familiar whooshing sound that she usually made with vampire speed sounded behind her, making her twist back around in an instant. Nearly with a vampire speed herself.

The next thing Olivia realised was that when she turned around, someone was standing there – but not a someone she had met before. It was a man a bit older than Stefan but a lot younger than Zach, he had dark clothing on and a cocky smirk on his face – he had his head tilted towards her, his smirk widening. This made Olivia narrow her eyes.

"Who're you?" She questioned, never seeing him before. Her eyes pierced even harder when she took note of how pale his skin was – just like hers and Stefan's. Looking down at his hand – he also had a ring similar to Stefan's.

The guy raised his eyebrows, "I should be asking you the same thing. I mean, you are trespassing on my property." Slipping his hands into his pockets calmly.

"Actually, the name is probably under Zach Salvatore's name since he invited me in this morning." Olivia retorted, not getting a good vibe from him. "You know, given the fact that he's human and you're not." Just like Stefan and Lexi, she didn't get the urge to drain him dry so that could only mean one thing to her. He was a vampire.

The guy looked at her, a little impressed but didn't let it show up on his face. "Well, well, what a smart one you are. Feisty too … I like it. And, you must be Olivia the newbie vampire." He liked seeing the uncomfortable look form on her face, "I'm Damon."

"Where's Stefan?" She got right down to the point – he had some explaining to do.

Amusement quirked into his features, "Oh, my little brother's still out compelling poor little Vicki."

 _Brother._ So he did have a sibling like she thought, now she understood why he never talked about this guy – he looked too arrogant for his own good and she hasn't even been in his presence for more than thirty seconds.

He licked his lips, "What a tasty one she had been."

"What did you just say?" Olivia demanded, a little angry. It started to fall into place … this was the vampire that's been terrorizing Mystic Falls … the one who nearly dried Vicky completely … and the one that nearly caused her to kill half of the student body of Mystic Falls.

Damon feigned in shock, pretending to be surprised, "You mean he didn't tell you? What a shock!" He mocked a gasp but chuckled at the same time, "If you were Lyla, he would have told you right away."

Suddenly it was like something stabbed her in the heart, "Whose Lyla?" Forgetting the fact that she's just been told that the guy in front of her had been causing her town pain.

"Stefan's ex," He replied, enjoying the pinch of jealousy she was probably feeling right about now. He put on a fake realisation look on his face, "Oh, you haven't had the _ex's talk_ yet have you."

It took a moment to answer, but she muttered a small, "No." They hadn't really gotten into the whole past relationships part yet.

"Oops." Damon wasn't apologetic, not by voice or by how he reacted. "Well, I'm sure it'll come up now. Ooor…" He drawled out the word, smirking again, "…maybe he just didn't want to tell you because it would seem like he's on the rebound."

Olivia gritted her teeth to stop herself from showing any emotion to the things he's just said, not feeling very up to seeing Stefan anymore. She really didn't like this guy and could completely understand why Stefan hadn't brought him up before. But it did hurt that he hadn't told her himself rather than having to find out on her own.

Glancing over at the front door, it was still open. She turned to Damon one last time, "Tell Stefan I came to see him." And just after she finished her sentence, Damon watched as she disappeared from the living room with vampire speed – he chuckled. "Good meeting you too, Miss Olivia!" He loved messing with her, just like he had always done to Lyla but Olivia was just a much easier target.

~ 8 ~

As soon as Olivia left, still with the amused smile on his face Damon grabbed himself a glass before pouring some scotch into it. He sat on the couch, and that's when Stefan walked in through the front door – looking slightly exhausted but he tried to hide it knowing that his older brother was there, watching his every move.

"Ah, Stefan." Damon greeted him, not moving from his spot. "Well, don't you look pooped?" He teased, "Maybe you should sit down." Stefan was going to ignore him, but his brother continued, "Did you over-exert yourself today?" He gasped, "Let me guess … hospital." Although he already knew the answer, he just loved messing with his brother as much as he would to Olivia.

Stefan gritted his teeth, "Someone had to clear up your mess." He countered. Something suddenly caught his smelling senses – he swore he could smell Olivia having been here. She had a distinct strawberry smell to her which is probably what she uses in her shampoo. She did say she popped by this morning, maybe that's why he could smell her? Zach must have invited her in, he just hoped Damon hadn't been here as she did.

"Well," Damon drawled as if waiting to hear the answer. "Were you successful?" The corner of his lip quirked, "Did the powers of persuasion work? Remember, if you don't feed properly, none of those little tricks work right." After finishing off his drink, he stood up to stare at his brother before pointing towards him. "Maybe you should have asked your girlfriend to do the compelling for you, you know since she actually drinks human blood."

"She doesn't like the idea of compelling." Stefan told him in a hard voice, "And she's not my girlfriend." No matter how much he really wanted her to be.

"Oh, that's right." Damon formed a look of realisation on his face and then chuckled again, remembering her face when he mentioned Lyla, "And I'm sure that won't be happening anytime soon anyway."

Stefan paused himself, just observing his older brother – the way he said that it's like he knew something he didn't. "What are you talking about?" He took the bait.

Damon went over to fill his glass again, but glanced over his shoulder with a smirk, "I'm just talking about the fact that the next time you see her, she _may_ not be too happy to see you." He paused, "While you were out 'clearing up my mess' as you call it – Olivia came by expecting to find you … but got me instead." He closed the bottle to his scotch, taking a sip from the newly poured glass in his hand.

Stefan felt himself go cold inside, "What did you do." He demanded.

"I just told her the truth about a few things." He shrugged, leaning himself against the table. "You'll have to ask her for more details if you want to know exactly what I said."

Stefan's eyes narrowed, not sure what his brother was playing at. "What kind of game are you playing, Damon?"

Damon chugged back the glass, the liquid pouring down his before. He licked his lips before the smirk widened, "Guess you'll just have to wait and see … won't you?"

~ 8 ~

 _Dear Diary,_

 _I'm not sure what to think – I know and feel like I should believe this 'Damon' who is apparently Stefan's brother but at the same time, I should be asking Stefan about his side of the story. I really don't want to believe that I'm this rebound girl, I mean, for all I know – this girl could've been from like a hundred years ago. That's a long time. But if it was recent, then I would definitely have something to worry about._

 _I should talk to him but I don't want to, he needs to make the first move himself. I just feel plainly hurt that I didn't find out about his brother beforehand and he obviously knew that Damon was the vampire causing the terror in Mystic Falls. Why couldn't he have just said something?!_

 _I really don't know what to do right now diary!_

Olivia sighed, practically stabbing her spoon into the bowl of ice-cream her sister had given her. "Apparently he could be on the rebound-" She scoffed, shoving a spoonful into her mouth, making her next words come out a little gargled, "-And he has major family issues." Referring to Damon. Jenna and Elena were there, and for the first time, she was actually talking to them about boy problems.

Jenna came and stood next to her niece who was sitting in one of the dining room chairs, clutching a healthy apple. "Well, at least it's an ex-girlfriend," She commented, trying to sooth the younger girl that this may be nothing. But also to try and cheer her up, this guy had been the one to bring back her niece from the dead – figuratively speaking of course. "Wait until you meet a guy with mommy issues or cheating issues … or amphetamine issues."

"That's true." Elena pointed out, those were the worst kinds of relationships. A rebound relationship was nothing compared to those as stated by her Aunt. She was currently making herself a big bowl of ice-cream, topped with chocolate sauce and sprinkles.

Suddenly, it was then when Jeremy decided to show up – opening the front door before sauntering in. He had his black hoodie on, clearly trying to hide his face. Jenna and the Gilbert twins looked towards the door that could be seen from where they were standing, the good part of an open planned ground floor.

Jenna had been about to take a bite out of her apple but stopped, "Jeremy!" She called out to him, wanting him to come over to them for a talk. But as expected, Jeremy lowered his head and ignored her, making his way up the stairs to avoid the confrontation. "Where were you?!" It was nearly past ten at night, it was completely unacceptable on a school night.

Elena just shook her head, disappointed – it was obvious to her where he had been and what he had been doing.

Olivia, on the other hand, was sucking on her spoon, clearly thinking inside her head. Even though she had told Jeremy that she understood why he was using drugs and drinking alcohol – there was going to come a point when she wouldn't stand for it anymore either. With her good vampire sight, she had seen the glassy look to her little brothers eyes the moment the living room light flashed against his orbs.

She internally sighed – maybe she should try and get him to stop; maybe if _she told_ him to stop … would he? She scoffed in her head, _Yeah right_. She was on a rocky relationship with him as it was that she hoped was slowly repairing, she probably wasn't the best one to really get to him. Elena's incessant badgering was most likely to work more than anything.

 **Fav, Follow and Review!**


	8. 2-3 A Lonely Comet

**Thank you all SO much for the reviews you've been leaving me, they truly make my day. They make me want to continue to update quicker! A couple of you may have noticed but I have changed the cover to this fic (and two others) but let me know if you think it's better than the last if you'd like to comment on it!**

 **Enjoy your next awaited chapter! It's a nice long one since there isn't going to be a part 4 this time.** _Oh,_ _ **small warning**_ _– there will be a swear word or two later on in the chapter!_

 **Vampire Diaries Fanfic | Dawn of a New Day | Night of the Comet – Part 3**

It was the next day, near mid-afternoon and still Stefan hadn't come to see her. Olivia was starting to feel really disheartened by that fact – maybe it was a sign that being with him wasn't for the best? Maybe it just wasn't her time for a relationship?

She was currently walking around with Bonnie, handing out the same flyers the four of them had been folding yesterday. Elena had made the two of them get together, obviously still feeling the tension between them since the party at the Falls. Elena obviously seemed to know what was going on with Bonnie because she sent 'the look' as Olivia liked to call it. She was pushing Bonnie into telling her sister exactly what had been admitted that night.

The area was packed; there were so many people that if Olivia wasn't concentrating on forgetting the blood and her lust for it, that she wouldn't even be well as she thought right now. Stefan's method was really working for her it seemed. She could actually act normal in public, and she was completely thankful for that.

"Hey, it's the night of the Comet." Bonnie was calling out with a grin on her lips, "Would you like a program?" She asked a couple of people just slightly older than her. There were a lot of tourists here today; Mystic Falls was definitely getting a lot of business because of the Comet.

The two of them handed out a few flyers before turning silent again, that was until Bonnie finally spoke to Olivia, glancing over to the brunette. "So, has he called yet?" She questioned, hesitantly, referring to Stefan. "Stefan."

Olivia internally rolled her eyes, of course, Elena would have mentioned that. She sighed, shaking her head sadly – it was just before she went to bed last night when she remembered that they hadn't actually exchanged numbers yet. "No, but then we never got to the 'number exchange' part."

"That's an important milestone in any relationship." Bonnie told her, knowing that Olivia hadn't really gotten into relationship stuff before. She started to feel guilty – she hasn't really been a good friend the last couple of days and Olivia could obviously see this. The brunette wasn't really looking at her as she spoke, just handing out flyers and trying to keep quiet as much as possible.

Olivia just shrugged, turning away to pass another flyer off to a tourist.

There was another painful silence until Bonnie finally couldn't take it anymore, "Olivia, I'm so sorry." She grabbed her friend's arm, stopping her from walking away.

Olivia did stop, but frowning while doing so in a confused manner. "What are you talking about, Bon?" She obviously knew what this was about, she just didn't want to show it.

Bonnie sighed, looking very apologetic, "At the party I went completely weird towards you and you hadn't even done anything wrong. And the last few days, it's just…" Her words cut out, remembering back to what had happened.

"Bonnie, what?" Olivia pushed, but not in a bad way – just an encouraging one.

She looked up, "When I touched that bottle, I saw something." She began to shake a little bit; it had scared her and the image she saw was still fairly clear in her head.

Interest perked up inside Olivia, but a worriedness did too. "What did you see?"

Bonnie looked at her dead in the eye, "I saw you dead, Liv." Her voice cracked, tears started to form in her eyes, "Y-You were laying in an alley way all … all bloody and you had a mark on your neck just like Vicki did." Her eyes glanced to where she saw the mark on her friend, just as a reassurance of sorts. There were no signs of any marks or scars.

Olivia swallowed hard, willing herself not to react. Bonnie really was a psychic or a witch wasn't she? "Bonnie, I'm fine." She gestured herself, trying to sound comforting – but inside she wasn't feeling too well after hearing that. "See, I'm not dead and that has never happened to me. I have no idea why you saw something like that." She lied, her heart hurting as she did. She really hated lying to her friends; especially Caroline though in particular and her siblings.

Bonnie took a deep breath after a moment, believing her. "Good." She let out a breathy chuckle, thankful that Olivia hadn't been hurt at one point without them hearing about it. She was immensely glad that the vision must have been wrong, it made her feel lighter knowing that Olivia now knew about it too. "Okay, lets get back to the 'Stefan talk'"

Olivia groaned out loud, shaking her head before continuing towards the square again. "There's nothing else left to say about the subject." Feeling better that she knew they were going to be friends again like before, but that vision she had worried her. It was a bit of the past she always and almost constantly had nightmares about until yesterday night. Although, she did have a nightmare last night. "It's just not the right time after all."

Bonnie kept up with her quickened strides, "When is it ever right?" She asked, rhetorically.

Olivia gave her a shrug, doubting herself, "I'm just not ready, Bon."

"Who is?" Bonnie questioned again. She knew Olivia liked the guy, and she was determined to get them together just as much as Elena and Caroline were too. Olivia needed the happiness; she didn't know what happened in Chicago, no one knew as far as she knew – but it had to of been bad to make her react the way she did.

Olivia paused in her steps, turning to Bonnie, "At least I put myself out there which is more than I can say I've ever done." She tried to defend herself without thinking.

Bonnie just cocked an eyebrow towards her, not believing it, "That's not what I think – all I hear are excuses for why you're not going after something you want." She gave a smile of encouragement, "You'll never find out the things in life without taking risks, Liv."

Olivia just stared at her for a moment, thinking it through but not really. "I'll think about it." She promised. She glanced down at the few dozen flyers still in her hands, and Bonnie's, "Come on," She sighed, "We still have a lot of these to get out before sundown. Let's get people interested in a Comet."

~ 8 ~

Later that night, the time for the Comet had come and everyone was outside at the town square – people were passing out hand-held candle pots to light up with each other. Olivia had grabbed one of the available candles and her eyes set on Matt, he seemed to be standing there waiting for her. She knew this by how he seemed to stare at her with an awaiting look.

"Hey," She said, a small smile on her face. His candle was already lit. So, to light hers – she leaned her candle wick against his so hers would spark. "Thank you." Her flame was now lit.

"You're welcome." Matt nodded to her, a similar smile of his own.

"I never got a chance before, but I'm glad Vicki's okay." Olivia told her older brother figure. He was only older by about a month actually, but still, older.

"Thanks, Liv." He told her gratefully, "I'm glad you're doing better too - I really missed the old you and I can see her now."

Olivia looked down for a moment, a small sad smile now appearing on her face, "Me too, Mattie." There was a small silence before she spoke up again, lifting up her candle. "I'm gonna go light some candles, I'll see you later." He nodded, and she could see him glancing over her shoulder – to Elena.

Olivia walked just a little bit until she found an unlit candle, but she didn't look up to see who was holding it. It wasn't until the person spoke that she realised just who it was – Stefan. "Thank you." He said, getting her head to turn upwards towards his face. She was sure a look of surprise had popped up in her own features, "Hi." He continued, a smile on his face.

"Hi." She replied, about to smile at the sight of him but then remembered about yesterday. She turned herself to look down, slowly walking away to stand a bit further from the crowd when she realised that the girls and Matt were glancing over to her. They were close enough for a hearing distance.

Olivia could hear Stefan coming up behind her before stopping right beside. She wanted to say something – but she didn't know what or how to start. She could mention about yesterday's events, but she kind of wanted him to bring that up himself.

"You know, that comet…" Stefan started to say, looking up into the night sky. You could see stars upon stars and the Comet was in full-view of where everyone was standing at the Square. "…it's been travelling across space for thousands of years. All alone."

Olivia was looking up at the Comet now too, just gazing at it. "Bonnie's Grams says it's a harbinger of evil." She commented, feeling Stefan literally right beside her shoulder from behind, practically feeling his breath near her neck but she didn't seem to mind.

"I think it's just a ball of snow and ice," He explained his theory, "Trapped on a path that it can't escape and once every 145 years, it gets to come home." Olivia nodded, getting the feeling that he could relate to that idea somehow, because she sure did. She's trapped to be a vampire for the rest of her undead life; it's just a factor of whether she'll be alone for that entire time or not.

There was a silence between them. An uncomfortable one was something Olivia could describe it to be. She started looking down at the candle in her hands again, her finger slowly tracing around the glass dome around the candle itself.

"I'm sorry about yesterday." Stefan broke the silence, apologising. Ever since he found out from Damon that she had not only come to see him but met his brother in the process – he knew she would be hurt. He had never mentioned Damon, and by the sounds of it, his brother must have mentioned something else hurtful - given that the smirk on Damon's face had been very pronounced.

"Which part." Olivia retorted with a bitter quip, "The fact that you told me you never had any siblings or the part where he's the vampire that nearly killed Vicki at the party? And did actually kill several people already according to the news if an 'animal attack' was the secret word for _you know what._ " On the last part, she kept her voice down to a near hiss, speaking of murder wasn't the wisest decision around this many people.

"Both." He answered with a sigh, wanting to make things right again between them. He should have told her – but he wanted to keep her safe and away from Damon. But he should have known that would never have worked.

Olivia sighed, shaking her head. "You seem to spend a lot of time apologizing." She noted.

Stefan moved a little so that he was nearly right in front of her, "Well, I have a lots to apologize for." He tried to get her to look at him, but she wouldn't – she just continued to listen instead, "Liv, I am so sorry for not telling you about Damon and what he did. He's dangerous and I didn't want him anywhere near you – he plays these mind games and he practically gets off on it … other than torturing me every chance he gets."

Olivia thought about it – she could tell the guy was dangerous just by looking at him, the arrogance in his posture and that smirk plastered on his face. But what did Stefan think? That she would never run into him? That she'd never find out that he wasn't an only child, let alone the only vampire in his family?

She nodded her head at his words, going with it, but there was one main thing that had been plaguing her mind all night …and day, since finding out about it. "Damon mentioned your ex … Lyla?" Finally looking up at him, trying to make it seem like it didn't really bother her … when in fact, it really did.

Stefan could see that it was really bothering her no matter how hard she tried to hide it, "What did he say?"

"Nothing much, really." She shrugged, turning away for a moment, "Just that if I were her, you wouldn't have kept anything from me, especially for this long."

Stefan silently cursed Damon, wanting to ring his neck with into a spike. "Lyla was a long time ago, Liv." He told her, wanting to get past this – it wasn't something he ever liked to talk about. He never liked to talk or think about the times when Katherine and Lyla came into the picture, that's when things started to unravel and disintegrate; especially the relationship he used to have with his brother. "Way back … _then._ " Silently wishing he could actually say, 'When he was human' but there were way too many people around to say stuff like that.

A small sigh of relief did fill Olivia on the inside, but she didn't feel much happier still. From the way Damon said with his words, Stefan had a very good relationship with this 'Lyla' and if it were true, then he might not be truly over it no matter how much time had passed.

She couldn't do it … whatever _this_ is. "When you lose someone, it stays with you no matter how much time has passed. And … it always reminds you of how easy you can get hurt." Referring to her parents who fluttered in her mind stream for just a second – she missed them so damn much her heart constricted.

Stefan's heart clenched as he heard those words, they sounded sad and final. He knew what was happening and he couldn't stop it; it sounded like she had made up her mind. "Olivia…" He tried, but she stopped him by shaking her head – finally looking up to him with a layer of water covering her orbs but it would have gone un-noticed if he had been human.

"It's okay, Stefan." Olivia started, nearly clutching the candle holder a little too hard as she continued, "I get it. God, you have no idea how much I get it." Stefan was staring at her sadly but almost like a pained one – he had a strong guess to where this might be heading, "Complicated brother? Check. Having a hard time dealing with something no one else can understand? Double check. And, too complicated to even contemplate dating? Triple check."

Olivia smiled at him, but it wasn't in happiness, just acceptance. "It's okay, Stefan." She said, "We met, and we talked." She thought back to the picnic table conversation. "You've helped me enough and I'll be fine from here on and our time together was epic, but…" She bit her lip for a second, "…then the sun came up … and reality set in."

There was a moment between the two where silence fell; Stefan was still staring at her, almost not believing what was happening – something he wished wouldn't happen.

Olivia lowered her head, her hair falling in front of her face just a little – feeling uncomfortable with him staring at her. "Goodbye, Stefan." She told him in a quiet voice before slowly backing up from him, turning away before leaving out of his sight.

' _This is the right thing to do."_ Olivia told herself, trying to support her decision. _"I'm just not ready for a relationship and now isn't the time. I should be working on my relationship with Jeremy and how I might have to keep them safe from Damon now. He didn't seem like the type to leave just certain people alone. Especially now that he's met me."_

~ 8 ~

Later on, everyone had gone into 'The Grill' for something to drink together – besides, outside was getting a little chilly. There were still hours until the Comet was to leave again for another 145 years, so they had plenty of time to waste. Olivia was sitting at one of the higher-rise tables next to her sister, who stood next to Tyler. Everyone she knew her age was probably hanging around this one table.

While everyone was sitting around chatting to one another, she was there in her thinking space again. Looking back to how she left Stefan, her heart kept clenching at the memory.

It was just as the nattering got louder that Jeremy came over to the table, his face filled with worry. "Hey, has anyone seen Vicki?" He asked, concerned.

Tyler scoffed, "You're her stalker. You tell us." He countered, not concerned for the druggy's safety.

"I can't find her!" Matt started to worry too upon hearing Jeremy, trying to remember the last time he had seen her but it had to of been a couple of hours ago now.

Tyler either didn't seem to care, or he just couldn't be bothered to. "She's probably just found someone else to party with." He spoke with an underline of bitterness. He smirked to himself suddenly, "Sorry, pill pusher – I guess you've been replaced." Thinking it had been a good comeback, although, he didn't know it might come back and bite him in the ass.

"Excuse me?" Olivia blinked suddenly, snapping out of her mind-space. Did she hear that right? … Pill Pusher?

Elena seemed to think along the same lines, turning to Tyler with a confused frown on her lips. "What's with the 'Pill Pusher'?"

Tyler sent Jeremy a smug look, nodding his head over to him so the sisters knew what the little Gilbert had been doing behind the curtain. "Ask him."

Jeremy tried to avoid his sister's stare, but not just because he wanted to avoid a confrontation he knew he'd be getting – but Vicki might be in trouble and she was more important than his supposed 'Problem'. "You wanna do this right now?" He butted back to Tyler, hating the guy with pure passion.

Olivia knew what she looked like … betrayed. She thought he was just going through a phase of just using the drugs and alcohol to lessen his pain … for himself … but dealing? He was encouraging others to do the same as him, that was _not_ something she would agree on. _And he knew that!_

"Are you dealing?" Elena questioned her brother in a hard tone but also surprised, not thinking that could happen to her little brother.

"She's never going to go for you." Tyler commented, still looking straight at his competitor for Vicki.

Jeremy couldn't help but retort back, forgetting that another one of his secrets would be blown. "She already did." He stated, looking smug himself this time. "Over and over and over again."

"Yeah, right." Tyler scoffed, not believing him.

Caroline didn't seem to believe it too because she raised her eyebrows in disbelief, thinking he must be lying, "You slept with Vicki Donovan?" She forgot to put on her filter mouth, "I mean, Vicki Donovan slept with you?"

"There's no way!" Tyler agreed with her.

Jeremy ignored them, "At least I didn't have to force her into it." Remembering back at the party when he had to save her from being nearly forcefully taken … sexually.

An awkward silence suddenly filled the room, you could almost hear a pin drop.

"What's he talking about, Ty?" Matt's voice was the one to come up next, it had an edge to it you didn't want to mess with.

Throughout the constant back-chatting, Olivia could feel her hands clenching periodically – she was getting angry. "Alright, that's it." She finally spoke out, getting up from her chair with a look of anger on her face – something of which no one has ever seen before, or it was a very rare occasion. She pointed to her little brother, "You, your coming with me … now!" She ordered, pushing past everyone and grabbing him by the arm, pulling him with her as she pushed their way outside. She didn't realise her grip was getting very hard, making Jeremy wince painfully.

Her blood was boiling.

~ 8 ~

"Ow, what they hell, Liv?!" Jeremy snatched his arm away from her as they got outside, his skin was now pulsing red but he imagined a bruise would show up in the morning. How the hell did she get so strong?!

Olivia ignored him, she just turned to him with a stare, holding both her hands up to her mouth in a thoughtful faze – she was inside her head trying to think. There was so much anger starting to boil up inside of her, this has never happened to her before. She knew it was because of the heightened senses but there was so much of it built up over time – it felt like all of it wanted to be released, and now.

"What the _heck_ were you thinking, Jeremy." Olivia suddenly spoke, her tone deadly calm that could scare off a fully-grown male.

Jeremy couldn't help but flinch at the tone, but the surprise was set inside of him. Never – and he meant, _never_ – has he seen his sister looking so … angry, but most of all – disappointed. His heart dropped when he realised that last one.

When he didn't say anything, she continued. "I gave you a small pass because I figured that having a few drugs and drinking some alcohol here and there was your own way of getting through the loss of our parents. But … _DEALING_! Are you _fucking kidding me_!" Her voice was at near shouting range at this point.

Jeremy finally took a stand, he scoffed but didn't look up at her – he was making it worse for himself. "Just leave me alone! You're just like Elena! And besides, I'm not dealing!" He just gave away the drugs instead of getting money for them.

"You know what…" Olivia placed her face in neutral, not trying to show much emotion but you could see the blaze in her eyes. "…how about I take a piece out of Elena's book. How about I get Jenna to send you off to Rehab, huh or to see a therapist?" She didn't give him a change to butt in, "Where you're gonna have to move away from home and talk to a damn stranger about your problems and feelings, even how you let your life fall apart! Because clearly, nothing we do or say has any kind of impact on you!

Jeremy gritted his teeth, "I vote for none of the above." He was about to say something else but another thing caught his attention, something underneath his sister's eyes. He could swear there were some kind of black veins crawling down from underneath her eyes. But almost as he blinked, they were gone. Was he seeing things?

Olivia had caught the way he saw her eyes, so quickly she had used Stefan's method to get rid of them – she should be safe, but she was still very angry. As she was about to continue, the stench of fresh blood caught her senses and it was strong – her throat clenched, she tried using Stefan's method again … but it wasn't working. She breathed out deeply, turning herself around. She needed to get out of here, there wasn't enough blood in her system to stop herself wanting wherever that smell was coming from.

Jeremy was frowning, wondering what was happening to his sister – one moment it looks like she's about to release hell on earth and the next … her head was turned towards a particular direction, almost like she's trying to hide herself. And before he could ask what she was doing, she spoke again but there was almost a pained tint to it. "Go find Elena and stay with her." She told him, pointing towards the Grill but still not turning around – her fangs were slowly elongating and she was sure her eyes were nearly sparking the ruby red they usually do when her body was hungry. "And when we get home; your gonna talk to me once and for all."

And with that, she walked away but in a very fast manner, trying to get away from her little brother – both not wanting him to see her face, but also not wanting to hurt him. She left him confused by the way she acted, trying to figure out what had just happened.

~ 8 ~

Olivia breathed a sigh of relief when she stepped through the threshold of home; just having been hunting in the forest. It took her two rabbits to finally get the edge away, and she felt so much better after doing so. As she shut the door behind her, the sound of footsteps upstairs caught her attention – in Jeremy's room if she was correct by the location of those steps.

' _Time for another talk with Jeremy'._ She thought, sighing – after the blood settled her hunger, she felt more relaxed than before. She needed to remember to apologise to him about squeezing his arm so hard; her emotions were something that was a little difficult to handle as well at times, especially during certain situations. Like, finding out your brother has been doing something she thought he would never do.

"Jer?" Olivia started to say upon reaching the top of the staircase, but stopped herself when she didn't see her brother in his room – it was Jenna, rummaging through several of his drawers. She cocked an eyebrow at this, mostly in surprise, "Jenna?"

Jenna didn't turn around, still continuing to invade the younger boy's privacy. "Nope, it's me." She answered, "The hypocrite patrol."

Olivia had an inkling to what her Aunt might be doing but figured it would be a good point to ask anyway. "What are you doing?" Standing in the middle of the doorway, holding her jacket. She hadn't taken a bag with her to see the Comet, just her purse in case she wanted to buy a drink or something.

Jenna finally paused in her searching, looking up to her eldest niece with a look of dread in her features. "I've become my worst nightmare." She admitted, "The authority figure who has to violate a 15-year-old's privacy." Her vision suddenly catches a large boot over to the side, next to the door that was connected to a bathroom. One that Jeremy shared with Elena. Olivia had been lucky enough to have her own, given that she was technically older.

"Ah-ha! Jackpot!" Jenna exclaimed, retrieving something large and green out of the boot – Olivia could see that it was some kind of smoking pipe. "I see the hiding places haven't gotten any more creative."

"Don't get me wrong; what you're doing is a good idea…" Olivia started, making her way over to sit on her brother's mini chair in the corner. "…But what's brought this on?" Honestly, she was thinking of doing the same thing tonight but getting Jeremy to do it himself … with a little force if necessary. And by that, she meant staying in his room and keep annoying him until he did what she said.

Jenna went back to finding Jeremy's drug toys, "Your ass-hat of a History teacher shamed me good yesterday."

"Ah," Olivia nodded, understanding. She let out a small snort, hugging one of the pillows from her brother's bed to her chest, "Yeah, been there – done that. I think the bastard actually gets off on bringing people down."

Jenna brought her voice lower, almost imitating Mr. Tanner. "'Discover the impossible, Ms. Summers.'" She scoffed, finding another little drug toy in Jeremy's shirt drawer. She threw it onto the bed with the other dozen things she's been able to find, "Got it, thanks. Like I didn't know I was screwing up already."

Olivia sighed, throwing the pillow back onto the bed, folding her legs under her body. "Jenna, you are NOT screwing up." Trying to convince her Aunt.

"Yes, I am – and you know why?" She replied, feeling like she could cry. She glanced down at her niece with pain-filled eyes, "Because I'm not _her_." Referring to her sister, they're mother. "She made everything look so easy. You know, high school, marriage, having you."

"I can't do it." Jenna declared, feeling the world finally cave in on her. "I'm gonna say or do the wrong thing, and he's gonna get worse and it's going to be _my_ fault." She finally gave up, moving herself to sit on the bed, opposite Olivia.

"It's impossible." She breathed, overwhelmed.

Olivia knew she had to say something encouraging to her Aunt, otherwise, there could be a major breakdown in the sooner future. "This is just the fear talking, Jen." She tried to comfort her Aunt, shifting forwards slightly so her elbows rested against her knees. "You're a little scared and that's perfectly okay – anyone in your position would feel the same. Everyone fears the unknown, it's what makes you human-" Suddenly she got herself caught up in her mind, thinking back to what she had decided earlier – about Stefan. "-and there's nothing wrong with that." Her words drifted off into space.

Stefan. Ever since she met him at school her life had started changing and for the better. He made her feel something no one has ever been able to bring out of her, he taught her in less than five minutes on how to stop the blood becoming the only thing in her life. Stefan Salvatore has probably been the best thing that's ever happened to her; both in her human life and her vampire life.

She was giving up too easily – she's never done that before, but now she could see it, she was running scared. She was scared to feel like that again and then knowing it could easily be ripped away from her at any moment. She was a vampire and so way he; it wasn't like they were easy to kill – but there was a fear inside that told her that he'd leave her if a rough patch came. But the fear was also referring to herself because she was sure at times, there would be moments when everything got a little too much to handle and she didn't want to cause him pain, just as much as she didn't want him to cause her pain.

Bonnie's earlier words floated back to her, _"-All I hear are excuses for why you're not going after something you want … You'll never find out the things in life without taking risks."_

And as much as she hated to admit it, all she was doing was making excuses for why she wasn't trying to make this work – why she was too scared to take a risk. She wanted to be human again but she wanted a new experience, one that she'll have to take a risk for - love.

"Liv?" Jenna's voice snapped her out of her head, the older woman was seeing several ranged emotions crossing her niece's face.

Olivia blinked, looking up at her – but she looked different, she looked … determined. "I have to go do something."

Jenna took a moment, observing her but nodded slowly – knowing that whatever it was must be important, judging by how Olivia was acting.

"Are you going to be okay?" Olivia asked, just to make sure her Aunt really would be alright.

Jenna smiled, nodding again but feeling much better after Olivia had talked to her. All she had needed was some encouragement … and someone to kick her back to sanity, and that's exactly what Olivia had done for her.

~ 8 ~

It wasn't very long until Olivia found herself standing, once again, outside the front door of the Boarding House. Her hands were wrung together in a nervous band, trying to calm herself down from that feeling too. The worst part about the heightened sense was that when she felt nervous – she became really nervous and it's the same for every other emotion in the book. It's why she was beyond angry with Jeremy earlier outside 'The Grill'.

After taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself down, she decided to ring the old doorbell this time instead of knocking – the dinging sound was very loud for her enhanced hearing.

It wasn't even a second later that the front door opened, and standing there was the very person she came to see – Stefan.

When Stefan saw her standing there, he couldn't help but just smile a touch – after the way she left him, he thought Olivia would try and stay away from him from now on. He was immensely glad he was wrong, though. "Hi." He breathed out, happy to see her standing on his front porch.

Olivia smiled slightly, but shyly at the same time when she saw his eyes light up at the sight of her. ' _You can do this, Liv!'_ She imagined Caroline cheering her on, her perky best friend. "Hey." There was a small silence between them until Stefan moved to the side – as if offering her an invitation inside.

"Would you like to come in?" He asked.

Olivia shook her head slowly, but gestured behind her with a thumb point, "The Comet's this way." Staying outside would make her feel more at ease – she could still imagine her encounter with Damon yesterday, just by looking towards the spot they had been standing.

Stefan watched as she walked over to the outer side of the porch, looking up past the edge of the roofing to see the Comet flying past. There was a much better view of it here than at the Town Square. He followed her silently, moving over to stand next to her. He could see that she was trying to act normally, but he could sense an anxiousness in the way she acted.

"I'm sorry for barging over like this." Olivia apologised first, turning towards him, her hands still fiddling about together. She glanced down, a little ashamed, "Especially after … earlier."

"No, no." Stefan shook his head, not bothered – if anything, he was glad she had come over. "I'm glad you're here." He said, honestly. "The way we left things … I didn't like it."

Olivia gave him a hesitant smile, "Me neither." She admitted, "And … the thing is, I got home tonight planning on doing what I've always done – write in my diary." She let out a deep breath, feeling a little calmer talking about it – but the previous feelings were still bubbling inside. "It's something that I've always done since my mom gave both Elena and me our very first journals – it's where I get to let loose and say anything I want. What I'm feeling, what I'm thinking and everything that's happened to me that I just can't stop thinking about."

She licked her lips, sighing – Stefan was listening intently, "It all gets put into this one little book that I keep hidden in the crack behind my cupboard." She had to find a better hiding spot than her shelving unit when her vampirism came into play – especially since she didn't want anyone happening to read it.

"But, then I realised the stuff I would be telling my diary … is probably stuff that I should be telling you."

Stefan tilted his head with curiosity leaking into his orbs, but he was enjoying just listening to her and that she was starting to open up to him. "What would you write?" He inquired, wondering if she would actually tell him.

Olivia breathed out a sigh, knowing this was going to happen – but she couldn't back out now. ' _You need to take a risk!'_ Her internal voice shouted at her.

"I would write…" She started, gathering up her thoughts and pretending she was writing in her diary – it would make it a bit easier to say these things on her mind. _"…Dear diary,"_ The two of them shared a small chuckle at the way she started, "… _Today, I convinced myself it was okay to give up and not take risks. Now is just not the time, there's just too much to deal with. And, going after the one thing I've truly wanted more than anything - just wasn't able to start today. But these reasons I speak about – they're excuses, not reasons and all I'm doing is hiding from the truth."_ Olivia started just talking towards Stefan this time, changing her words a little to make it seem like it wouldn't be something she'd put in a diary. "And the truth is that …" Olivia paused, her mouth opens just a touch, like her words had escaped her for a moment – but she pushed herself forwards. "…I'm scared, Stefan."

"I'm scared that if I let myself be happy for just one moment that … that everything will just fall apart and leave me even more broken than I already am. And I-" She paused again, "-I don't know if I can survive it if the world comes crashing down on me." Olivia had finally said what needed to be said, and although she felt lighter and easier on the fact – she was still uncertain on how Stefan would reply to her. Or if he would reply at all.

"Do you want to know what I would write?" Stefan questioned, still looking at Olivia with something she couldn't quite describe in his eyes.

Olivia didn't say anything, just nodded with her eyes set on his.

"I met a girl." He started, neither of them had realised it – but they were standing pretty close to one another, "We talked. It was epic." Using her words from before. "But then the sun came up and reality set in…" He saw Olivia's lips growing wider into a smile, she was no longer ringing her hands together. She was caught on his every word, "…Well, this is reality … right here." His voice finished with a soft tone, but it was breathy at the same time.

Olivia didn't fully comprehend what was happening but she felt herself slowly lean in towards Stefan, his body close to hers as he did the same. It was like time had stood still, and they were the only two beings left on Earth. Their gaze never broke and before they knew it – their lips met with a soft, gentle kiss that lasted several moments.

They pulled back for just a second before it happened again – but this time, Stefan's hands were gently holding Olivia's cheeks in an attempt to bring her closer. Olivia found herself doing the same. But this time, this kiss, it was more … passionate and a spark ignited between them.

And it was right then that Olivia knew … this was a risk well taken.

 _A complicated brother? Check. Struggling in the world of vampirism? Check._

 _First kiss?_

 _100% Check and loving it!_

 **Follow, Fav and Review!**


	9. 3-1 A Harder Morning

**Three Mid-Terms and Two Assignments due next week and every day is packed. Not sure how much updating I can get done next week which sucks. I have the week off after though, yey!**

 **I've had to change around the Bonnie-Stefan dinner around a bit in the first scene, but he is going to be asked, not to worry.**

 **Vampire Diaries Fanfic | Dawn of a New Day | Friday Night Bites – Part 1**

"Olivia, are you ready yet?!" Elena called up the stairs, all ready for school with her bag strapped to her shoulder. She was waiting for her sister to come down stairs so Bonnie could take them both to get breakfast, and then school. She didn't understand what was taking her sister so long … she _never_ took this long.

Upstairs, Olivia was going into a little panic session. There was no blood left in her fridge and that would mean she'd have to make a stop at the hospital to refill, but she hasn't had any blood since yesterday at about lunch time – so yeah, panicking was a good word for what she was feeling. There was no way she could go to school without at least some blood in her system – she was already starting to feel the affects of hunger with Elena still in the house. Jenna and Jeremy were already gone thankfully, but more bodies nearby wouldn't be good for her.

She could already feel her fangs want to pop out.

"Elena, just go without me!" Olivia yelled back, knowing she'd have to go into the woods to hunt. There was only an hour until classes start, she didn't know if there would be enough time to find something that could sustain her until after school. "I wanna walk today!"

"Are you sure?!"

It was getting harder to contain herself – why did Elena out of all people smell so good? "Just go, Lena!"

Olivia picked up a small mumble after a pause, but then the front door opened and closed – Elena was leaving and she couldn't be happier. Quickly, she got up off the floor from where she had been sitting, staring at her empty mini-fridge.

After running a shaky hand through her hair, she grabbed her bag with vampire speed before heading downstairs in the same manner. No one was home now so she didn't need to worry too much about anyone noticing the fact that she moves too fast. But honestly right now, she didn't care – all she hungered for was blood.

~ 8 ~

Later on, closer to the start of school, Olivia was standing near the parking lot, waiting for Bonnie and Elena to arrive. But she was also waiting for Caroline, she hadn't heard from the blonde all night and that was weird. She frowned, concerned when she glanced at her phone – still no reply from the five or so texts sent this morning. Where was she? First class was going to start in 10 minutes and Caroline was always at school, at least half-an-hour before it starts to work on cheerleading cheers.

Since the incident this morning with the 'no blood in storage' incident, she felt a little better, but not too much. She had been able to find two small squirrels, and unlike human blood, animal only did so much for her. It never really curved the true craving for blood – it just sated the lust for a good period of time. So, as someone might be able to tell, she was still very hungry but Stefan's method of telling herself she didn't want the blood was helping keep her fangs in.

Suddenly she heard the familiar sound of Bonnie's little white car, strangely enough, all the cars seem to have their own engine sounds and how fast it works. Bonnie's car was pretty new so it had a faster-working engine. She looked up, and indeed, it was Bonnie parking up just in front of her with Elena. She slipped her phone back into her jacket pocket, heading over to them as the two got out the car.

"Liv!" Elena called out upon noticing her sister standing to the side; she grabbed Bonnie's hand and dragged her over.

Olivia smiled slightly, but tensed when the small gust of wind caught Elena, and her scent flew right under her nose. "Hey." She said tightly, trying to remain normal. Over to Bonnie, she couldn't help but notice how different she seemed to be acting this morning. It was … strange. Bonnie twitched nervously like she didn't actually want to be here right now … with her? Didn't they sort this issue out during the night of the Comet?

Elena took a closer look at her twin, unable to help noticing the whiteness to her skin. "Liv, are you okay?" She asked, concerned. "You're looking really pale."

Olivia cursed at herself, she hadn't had her morning coffee because of the blood drama so her skin probably wasn't looking the best shade today. "Yeah, I'm just not feeling too good this morning – I'll be fine." Not too big of a lie.

Elena didn't seem to believe her, "Are you sure? I'm sure Jenna wouldn't mind you staying home for the day if you need to."

"No I swear Elena, I'm good." She waved off the concern, "Besides, if I miss the first day back at cheerleading, Caroline will have my head, literally. Best friend code in the way or not." She chuckled lightly, getting Elena and Bonnie to mirror her reaction. Because it was true – Caroline was _dead serious_ about her cheerleading. To drive the attention off herself, she asked, "So, what were you two talking about?" She wanted to know why Bonnie seemed so tense.

Elena nudged Bonnie, "Tell her." Giving her _the_ look as they began to walk towards the school.

Bonnie sighed before looking over to Olivia from Elena's other side, "So, how's you and Stefan?" She asked instead.

And at the mention of Stefan, Olivia's eyes instantly lit up and a light blush (which would have been there if she were human) filled the curves of her cheeks – the blood lust practically melted away. "Very good." She said, shyly, looking down with almost a giddy smile. Stefan was one of the main reasons for ever coming to school now – it had been two weeks since the day they … kissed. (something of which she still couldn't believe) And almost everyday they had spent at least a couple of hours together, and she was loving every moment of it.

Elena noticed this look and smiled to herself. Now this was definitely the happiest she's ever seen her twin in a long time. She was glad that their decision to pair her with Stefan had been a good one. She turned to Bonnie, whispering in her ear, "See, there's nothing to worry about." She didn't realise that her sister could hear.

"Worry about what?" Olivia's giddy smile slipped into a frown of concern, glancing over to Bonnie and her sister.

The two were a little startled, Elena really had kept her voice down – _'Obviously not'_ Elena thought.

Bonnie sighed, it had to be said now. "I just think you should take things slow with Stefan."

Olivia's eyebrows creased, "I am, Bonnie." Letting out a small chuckle, but there wasn't really any emotion behind it other than confusion. What was Bonnie trying to say? That she regretted trying to get them together? _She_ had been one to finally push her into taking a risk – was she taking back her words?

"I know." Bonnie replied in a quick manner, not wanting to seem horrible – they stopped in the middle of the field. She just couldn't shake that bad feeling she had when Stefan touched her hand after grabbing Olivia's phone number. "I was just saying though, it's your first ever real relationship – rushing just isn't wise ... I'm just expressing concern about my best friend's sister's new and first boyfriend."

Olivia still didn't get it, "Okay…" She said slowly, looking over to her twin but sent a thankful smile to Bonnie so it let her know that she appreciated the words. It felt like there was another meaning behind it, though, but she wasn't too sure what to really think right now.

Before another word could be spoken, Stefan appeared from the parking lot with a smile on his face. Olivia mirrored his smile upon seeing him. Stefan looked over to her sister and Bonnie, "Morning Elena … Morning Bonnie." Not noticing Bonnie tense, but Olivia had. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

Bonnie instantly looked for an exit, "Uh, I need to go to my locker before class." She started backing again, "I'll see you guys later." Completely ignoring Stefan as she walked away.

"Bonnie, wait!" Elena called, but it was no good – Bonnie didn't stop. She groaned before turning to her sister, "I'll catch up with you later, Liv." She sent a smile over to Stefan, "See ya, Stefan." And with, she was gone. Olivia couldn't help but be just a little glad at that, the wind was starting to pick up just a bit and not being near Elena was heaven right now.

As the two were far enough away, Stefan turned to Olivia, "Bonnie doesn't seem to like me very much." He commented, but he didn't loose the smile as he glanced down at Olivia who was just a bit shorter than he was.

"No," She denied, shaking her head as she watched her sister and Bonnie walk away further – that wasn't it, she was sure of that. Bonnie was acting a little like before after the bottle incident … maybe? Maybe she touched Stefan? They were both vampires who've technically both died. Maybe that's what's happening? "I'm not really sure what's going on with her lately." She looked over to him with bewilderment.

Suddenly the wind picked up again, making Olivia stop and tense – the smells got stronger. It smells so…"Liv, hey, you okay?" Stefan's voice cut through to her, making her snap back to reality, especially when his calloused hands touched her cheeks – his eyes boring into her own with concern.

"Y-Yeah," Olivia swallowed, nodding as the tense feeling drifted away again. "I-I just-" She paused, biting her lip when he pulled his hands away – her head glanced over at all the students just messing about with each other, all looking very tasty. _'_ _No! Stop it, Liv!'_ She shouted at herself. ' _You can't keep thinking these things!_ ' "-I ran out of blood this morning, I had to hunt before school. I could only find two small squirrels." Luckily they weren't near anyone with either good hearing or was right next to them.

She nodded to herself, pushing herself into believing she could get through the day. She took a deep breath, "I'm fine." She told him with more confidence.

"Okay." Stefan nodded, a little unsure but trusted her judgement. "But if it starts to get really bad, tell me and I'll get you out of here."

Olivia nodded, promising that she would – she'd rather skip school than risk killing a couple of people. But it wasn't the worst right now, especially with Stefan right beside her. "Thank you." She breathed gratefully, looking better than before. It was just then that she glanced over Stefan's shoulder and her eyes widened a little when she saw Tyler about to throw a football … in their direction. "Stefan, behind you." She quietly uttered to him with warning, just as the ball started flying towards them at a fast speed. Tyler had quite the power behind that ball.

Taking her warning and even though he could hear the ball heading his way – he twisted round and easily caught the football, just before it was about to hit him in the chest. Upon catching it, Tyler's jaw went slack and Matt's eyebrows raised in surprise but he was also impressed. Olivia however, covered her hand over her mouth with small chuckles – Tyler's face was priceless.

Stefan smirked internally, not only had he been really into football when he was human – but having the vampire strength and skills did have its perks. He readied the ball in his hand before gliding it back, even hard and faster than Tyler had before. Many people outside the school were watching with startled eyes – they were hooked onto the scene. When the ball was narrowly caught by Tyler, he stumbled back – nearly falling on his ass. He got back his footing back quickly before sending a glare to Stefan, clearly not amused like half the student population seemed to be.

Olivia grinned, completely at ease now. "That was amazing." She complimented, but cringed a little at the look of Tyler's glare – she had a small gut feeling that throw was going to come back and bite Stefan in the ass.

Stefan glanced back at her, relieved she was feeling better but was also proud of himself that he still knew how to do a good throw. It has been a while since he last played. He noticed the more relaxed posture his girlfriend had (he loved that he could call Olivia his girlfriend) and it made him proud of her that she's been able to use his method well enough to keep herself together.

But he knew there was still a long road ahead for her.

Just like it had been for him.

RING. RING. RING.

The school bell rung several times and the vampires could easily hear at least fifty groans echoing throughout the school. The two of them shared a look of amusement before Stefan slipped his hand into hers, the two of them heading to the first lesson they had together – the dreaded Tanner.

~ 8 ~

"That throw, seriously, it was insane." Olivia told him with an impressed look as they walked hand in hand down the hallway towards their lockers. Strangely, they're lockers were opposite from each other. "Now, did that skill come before or after … the turning." That didn't sound so bad, but it was easier than having to keep saying _'_ _you know what'_.

"I used to play football a lot back then, it was pretty much the only sport I played." He replied with a small chuckle, okay to be talking about it. Olivia hadn't asked too much about his past, just the small details and just like her, he's only asked small personal things here and there – not wanting to push her.

Olivia looked at him curiously, "Why don't you try out for the team?" She suggested.

That made Stefan a little hesitant, "Yeah, maybe not." He said.

She frowned, now confused. "So, you don't like football." He used to play it a lot when he was human but he doesn't like it now as a vampire? What kind of logic is that?

"Oh, no, I love football." He denied just as they made it to Olivia's locker. He let go of her hand so she could grab her books but he leaned against the locker beside her, not looking away. "I think it's a great sport. But, in this case … I don't think football likes me." He saw Olivia turn to him with confusion, so he clarified his words better, "You saw Tyler over there – he clearly doesn't seem to like me at all. I think I'd be committing suicide trying to join the team." He gave a small chuckle.

Olivia rolled her eyes, the smile now returning to her lips. "Oh, don't be dramatic." She told him, opening up the locker before grabbing the History textbook for this Semester. She glanced over to him, "Tyler's just a big dumb jock who needs to be taken down a peg or two … and you'd be the best person to do that." She encouraged him. She couldn't help but imagine him in a school jersey – would he be even more good looking in it?

"Besides…" She continued, taking off her jacket before putting it in the locker. "…to everyone in the school, you're the mysterious loner guy." She teased lightly before shrugging, "And it wouldn't hurt – could be a great chance to make a couple of friends outside of your maniac brother." A little bitterness falling into her tone when she thought of the older Salvatore. She really didn't like him, he always made her edgy within the two or three times she's seen him over the past three weeks. She tried to avoid him at all costs.

Stefan chuckled, not at all concerned that she called his brother a manic … because essentially, he was. "Says the girl who spends most of her time in her room writing in a diary." He teased back.

Olivia didn't take it badly, she found it a little amusing coming from him honestly. "Hey," She huffed with a little playfulness, turning her full body towards him, "There's more to me than the reserved Olivia Gilbert." She retorted, "There's a whole other Liv you have yet to meet. She was into many things … loved to keep herself busy."

Stefan liked the sound of that, he knew there was still a lot more to learn, just like she had a lot to learn about him too, "Well, I'm definitely looking forward to meeting her." He quirked an eyebrow, "And when will that be?"

Olivia bit her lip, "Soon." She answered. "She's working on it." Giving him a look that made him want to instantly know more about her … to him, she was as much of a mystery as he was to her.

RING. RING. RING.

Olivia couldn't help but bang her head against her now-closed locker door. A groan left her lips, "Just kill me now." She grumbled, before looking up with several blinks. "Again." Remembering that she was technically dead already. If anyone in the condensing corridor heard that, they probably would have just thought she was crazy. And after the month following her return from Chicago – it wouldn't have been a very large step to the truth.

Stefan's lips formed a grin, finding the scene amusing, "Come on," He held out his hand towards her, "Let's suffer Tanner together."

Olivia sighed in dismay – it really did suck that every year she seemed to get stuck with the same idiot teacher that set her teeth on edge. "Fine." She linked her hand with his again, letting him pull her down the hallway.

And suddenly, it just came to her – how was she acting so normal? So … open around Stefan? The only times she ever really done that was with Caroline! She didn't even open up fully around her own twin and the connection she had with this other vampire, it felt weird but natural at the same time. Wow, this guy was _really_ doing a number on her.

And the best part … she was loving every bit of it.

~ 8 ~

"…World War II ended in?" Tanner was saying, looking around the room again, as usual, to find his next victim. He silently hoped for an answer from one of his students, but all he received was silence. "Anyone got anything?"

Bonnie wasn't paying attention, lost in her own mind because all she could think about was three numbers. '8 – 14 – 22' They just wouldn't leave her head, and her doodle page was full of the same numbers written over and over again.

Elena wasn't paying much attention either, her head was resting against her palm, doodling as well. Slowly wanting to drift off to sleep.

"Miss Juan?" Tanner prompted the only Asian student in the room to answer, but all the girl did was shrug with boredom – she both, didn't know and didn't care. Tanner let out a noise of impatience and a grunt of frustration, "1945." He answered his own question.

Olivia glanced over her shoulder to Stefan, he had been able to get a seat a little bit closer to her – but he was still a row backwards, "Psst." She hissed quietly while using her hand as a cover to hide her words from Tanner. She knew Stefan's vampire hearing would clearly pick her up over Tanner's droning voice. Stefan glanced his head over to the side slightly to her, "FYI-" She started, happy she had gotten his attention. "-Our team sucks; I'm sure they'll be desperate for you if they knew how much skill you have."

"Pearl Harbour?" Tanner questioned, continuing to quiz his _enthusiastic_ (note the sarcasm) students on the dates of important events around the world.

The side of Stefan's lip quirked, "I can't." He whispered back, "I'm a loner." Using her word from before to mount his defense. It's not that he didn't want to play football again – he just didn't know if it would be the right choice. But … if Olivia thinks he should then, maybe he _should_ give it a shot? Like she said before, he does have a lot of skill that hasn't been put to good use for a while now.

His reply brought an instant smile on her face but it slipped away slowly when Tanner's voice was directed towards her. "Miss Gilbert."

"Hmm." Olivia slipped back around so her body was facing the front. Tanner's steel eyes were narrowing on her, noticing by her reply that she hadn't been listening.

"Pearl Harbour?" He repeated his previous question.

"Um…" She should know this but for some reason, her mind went blank. She couldn't remember.

Seeing this, Stefan stepped in for her – trying to pull Tanner's attention towards him instead. "December 7th, 1941."

Olivia blinked, ' _Oh, yeah._ _'_ Remembering now. Yeah, she really should have known that. She smiled slightly, sending a thankful to her … boyfriend. Wow, she still couldn't get used to calling him that either but it still makes her heart jump somersaults every time she thought about it.

"Thank you…" Mr. Tanner started off, his tone sarcastic but less than pleased as he looked over to Stefan, "…Miss Gilbert."

The class chuckled but Stefan simply waved it off, "Anytime." He threw back, not going to retort anything else back that could actually get him some kind of detention.

Suddenly a look crossed Mr. Tanner's face and almost a Cheshire grin formed on his lips. _'Uh, oh'_ , Olivia thought silently, she knew where this was going. Tanner's found his way to make Stefan's words into a challenge. So, that's what Stefan was going to get if he fell for the bait, a challenge.

"Very well," Mr. Tanner tilted his head, slipping his hands into his pockets – he was meant to ask the whole class, but his gaze mostly fell on Stefan. "The Fall of the Berlin Wall?"

"1989." Stefan's reply was almost instant; he didn't even need a second to think about it. The answer just slipped from his tongue. Stefan noticed the grin stretching further on the teacher's lips, "I'm good with dates, sir." Last time he had taken Tanner down a peg, maybe he could do it again and outsmart the teacher?

Tanner raised a challenging eyebrow, "Are you?" He narrowed his eyes with his grin now turning into a smirk, "How good?" He glanced around at all his other students, they were now looking mildly interested in what was about to go down. His head snapped back over to Stefan instantly, "Keep it to the year." And when he received a nod from Stefan, he began. "The Civil Rights Act?"

"1964." Tanner started him off with something easy.

"John F. Kennedy Assassination?"

"1963."

Tanner's eyes narrowed deeper, "Martin Luther King?" Not realising it, he had begun to take small steps towards his smart-ass student as he continued to quiz.

"'68."

"Lincoln?"

"1865."

"Roe vs. Wade?"

"1973." Olivia was turned in her seat to watch as Stefan stared at the teacher defiantly, never taking his gaze off the man for one second. Stefan was very much impressing her, but she couldn't be too surprised that he knew all these days – he's lived through all of the ones Tanner's mentioned and probably will mention. Everyone's head was bouncing between the two, holding they're breathe in anticipation.

"Brown vs. Board?"

"1954."

"The Battle of Gettysburg?"

"1863."

"Korean War?"

And still, Stefan didn't even have to think about his answer before it left his mouth. "1950 to 1953."

Suddenly a triumph grin formed on Tanner's lips, "Ha!" He exclaimed with a very pronounced smirk, "It ended in '52." Thinking he was the smartest one in the class again, that he had finally pushed this student back down to where he belonged. He was acting very childish for a bullying adult. He started making his way back to the front of the class, brisling in his accomplishment.

This time, Olivia's brow creased in confusion – now that, she did know the dates for off by heart. "Actually, it was '53, Sir." She stood up for Stefan, remembering the reading about the Korean war like she did it yesterday.

Tanner twisted back around, his gaze narrowing on Olivia this time as the students looked between the two. And suddenly, a gut feeling inside of him made him unsettled. He gritted his teeth, seeing the very sure looks on not only Stefan's but Olivia's face too. That made his concern for his sanity worsen, "Someone look it up!" He snapped after a moment, needing to know if he was still victorious or if he'll be a humiliated mess again for the second time in just a few weeks of the new student arriving.

Everyone in the room, expect a few which included Stefan and Olivia got out their phones, instantly looking up the real answer. Each of them prayed Stefan and Olivia were right; they wanted to see the look on Tanner's face when he realises he was indeed wrong … again.

"Quickly!"

One of the dark-skinned students near Stefan chuckled, everyone turned to him. "It was … 1953."

If looks could kill, both Olivia and Stefan would be on the floor with stakes in their hearts. You could practically imagine steam flying out of the teacher's ears, that's how pissed he looked. Laughter and murmurs filled the room again before texting started occurring – the students were probably spreading out the word that Tanner and be scorned, again.

Scattered applause was sent towards Stefan as the school bell rang, signalling the end of class. Tanner crossed his arms as the teenagers began to file out of his class, a tight smile on his face – but he still sent heated looks towards his two brighter students.

Just as Olivia got out her seat, her phone dinged – signaling that she had a text message. She frowned but opened up the message … it was from Elena.

 _Invite Stefan over for dinner!_

 _I have a plan to make Bonnie love him!_

 _She just needs to get to know him, that's all._

Olivia sighed but obliged by her sister. She slipped the phone back into her pocket and walked out of the classroom, she waited for Stefan to get released from the sea of students trying to get out of the room as well. They were probably all afraid that if they stay in there long enough that Tanner might actually commit murder.

"Hey," Stefan caught up to her, shouldering his bag a little more.

Olivia instantly smiled up at him, "Hey, back." She replied, grabbing onto his arm to pull him away from the stream of students. "So, are you busy tonight?" She questioned, leaking a little hope into her voice but she was trying to push past her shyness. But around Stefan, she never seemed to feel too shy. It's like he radiated a confidence that swept over her whenever he was near.

Stefan was a little intrigued as to why she was asking, but replied anyway, "Nothing as far as I know, why?"

Olivia smiled at the fact that he didn't have plans, "Good because I am inviting you over for dinner tonight with me, Bonnie and Elena at 8pm tonight." She gave a small shrug, not sure if Elena's plan would actually work. "It'll give them a chance to get to know you better, especially Bonnie."

Stefan looked at her for a moment, never losing his smile, "I would love to." He told her.

 **Note: This is probably going to be the hardest episode because Olivia's going to realize Caroline's getting fed on Damon. Ooh, what do you guys think is going to happen?**

 **Anyway…**

 **Follow, Fav and Review!**


	10. 3-2 Dinner Plans

**Now, this is part of what gets really tricky between my story and the TV Show. Caroline will NOT be bitten by Damon (but will be compelled), he's just dating her to piss over Olivia really and catch Elena's attention. You'll see.**

 **Damon will start to be a little different from the show, just because he's not competing (technically) for Elena.**

 **Vampire Dairies Fanfic | Dawn of a New Day | Friday Night Bites – Part 2**

It was a breath of relief, but she made it through the school day. During lunch time, she had popped back into the forest to find just one more animal to feed on and it's sad because she used to be an animal lover. Now, it was all about survival.

Even though classes had ended for the day, there was still one thing she needed to start attending again … cheerleading. Don't get her wrong, Olivia loved cheerleading … back then. But ever since her turning and coming back from Chicago, it's just feeling like the sport was becoming more a chore that needed to be done. Honestly, she just wanted to leave the school in order to go on her mini blood drive, to get it over with and have at least a sip of human blood before she exploded.

With a sigh, she walked out onto the field dressed in her shorty shorts that Caroline made her buy and a slightly loose tank top. When she became a vampire she had noticed her curves becoming more prominent and her body looked a little thinner, not that she was fat before. She was well within the normal weight for a 17-year-old girl.

"You're here!" Elena exclaimed from the ground, looking up to see her twin walking towards the squad. Unlike her twin, she still loved cheerleading even after their parent's death. Bonnie looked up with a smile as well, glad that Olivia would be joining them today.

Olivia gave a small chuckle as she reached them, clicking the top of her bottle back on after taking a sip, "I did say I would this morning." Against her better judgement. She placed the bottle of water on the floor before beginning to stretch (not that she actually needed to anyway). "Besides, like I said before, Caroline would kill me if I wasn't here today."

Bonnie suddenly frowned at the mention of Caroline, "Have you seen Caroline today?" She asked, "I keep leaving messages but she's still not here."

A concerned feeling grew in Olivia's gut, "No." She shook her head, having not been able to reach her best friend since last night either. The blonde's been really distant the last couple of weeks but she can't quite understand why. Was it because of her? Because they hadn't been spending much time together since, well, her coming back for one thing – but also because she's been spending a lot of time with Stefan than anyone else?

"I'm sure she'll be here any minute." Elena said, not looking too concerned but there was a little doubt in her eyes. Suddenly they light up, "Oh!" She turned around to her twin, "Bonnie's agreed to come tonight. Did you ask Stefan?"

Olivia didn't react but overheard Bonnie's under-the-breath remark, _"_ _More like forcefully agreed."_ Looking down as she stretched her legs.

"Yeah, he's coming," She replied to her twin, nodding her head. She couldn't help but be really happy about it; she hoped that Bonnie would come to like Stefan or if she fully couldn't, then just bearing with it would be okay for her … for now. "And good-" She looked over to Bonnie with a grateful smile, "Thank you for coming, Bon." Wanting to cheer the dark-skinned girl up just a bit.

Olivia sat on the ground to stretch out her legs, copying Bonnie. She knew today's cheerleading session was going to be hard, she hadn't been training with the new routines at all so she was pretty much flying blind here.

Bonnie sent her a small smile before sighing, reaching for her phone to see if there were any new texts. "Seriously?" She questioned out loud, "Where is Caroline?" Everyone was here except the team leader – the Head Cheerleader.

Olivia just sat herself up normally, not bothering to stretch anymore. It was boring. "I don't know but this really isn't like her." Starting to actually worry if something bad might have happened to her best friend.

"Maybe I should try her again." Bonnie mused, starting to type into her phone.

But in that moment, something picked up on Olivia's hearing – and driving towards them on the side road was a blue no-rooftop car with the music turned up VERY loud. "Uh…" Elena saw this too, pointing behind Bonnie to get her attention.

In that moment when Olivia witnessed who was in the car – her heart stopped before plummeting. Not only was Damon in the car … but Caroline was too. Her heart shook with fear for the blonde's safety.

"Oh, my god." Bonnie blinked, noticing who was in the car as well. They watched as Caroline leaned into Damon, kissing him hard on the lips. "That must be the mystery guy from the Grill."

"That's no mystery guy," Olivia uttered, barely able to keep the anger inside from rising to the surface. She slowly got up from the ground, Bonnie and Elena following as they listened. "That's Damon Salvatore."

"Salvatore?" Elena looked at her twin in shock, taking a closer look at the guy. "As in Stefan?" Damon had never been mentioned to anyone else, especially someone who looked liked _him_. As they watched Caroline slip out of the car – Damon looked towards them. When his eyes locked onto Olivia's, he smirked. He could see the baby vampire's fists clenching together and he knew she was having a hard time not rushing over to him with that blaze leaking into her eyes. She may be shy, but she had a protective spirit you did not want to mess with.

Caroline pranced over to them, passing Olivia. "Hey, Liv!" She hugged her best friend, "I'm so glad your back."

Olivia was glaring over her shoulder towards Damon, "Me too, Care." She said with a fake happy tone, "You know I love cheerleading." The bloodlust coming from hugging someone vanished and was replayed with hatred towards Damon. Caroline let go of her before bouncing towards the squad, unaware of the glare her best friend was still sending her new boyfriend.

But the part that made Olivia feel slightly better, was that there was were no marks on Caroline's neck … unless Damon used vampire blood to heal her? But Stefan said before that the guy didn't usually do that, just in case the person decided to go off and die – essentially turning them into a vampire. So maybe … he wasn't biting Caroline at all? She prayed that the assumption was right.

Elena didn't see this glare either, but for some reason, she found herself looking towards this 'Damon Salvatore'. And for one brief moment, their eyes connected – unstoppable, her heart started to speed up and a flush grew to her cheeks when he noticed her staring. His lips formed into a cocky grin.

But before she looked away, he drew down his glasses, sending her a secret wink – this made her blush harder. Unfortunately for Elena, Olivia noticed this exchange and her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"All right," Caroline shouted, getting down to work as she threw her sunglasses onto the grass. "Let's start with the double pike herkey hurdler. What do you say?"

As all the cheerleaders started getting ready for practice, Damon turned back to Olivia once more before sending her a mock wave. The car engine started up again and Damon, with his car, started heading down the way he came from – Olivia stared at the moving vehicle. She had a bad feeling brewing in her gut – she needed to try and get Damon away from Caroline, and by the looks she saw Damon and her sister share … maybe she'd have to keep a closer eye on Elena too.

~ 8 ~

Practice dragged on as Olivia tried to get caught up with all the complicated steps, but it's like she couldn't – even with her new vampire skills helping her. She just kept getting it wrong, Caroline saw this who sighed, "Liv, maybe you should just watch today. You can join in tomorrow."

Olivia stopped trying to follow the girls and nodded, liking that idea. "Thanks, Care." She called, making her way to the back of the group – watching them from behind. She wanted to continue Cheerleading for Caroline, but she didn't know if she could do it anymore. It felt like it didn't matter … she just couldn't bring herself to like it how she used to.

After trying to get back into the routine, she found she couldn't – her body just looked at them with exhaustion. She sighed, stopping to scratch her head. But when she turned to the side and towards the football field, her face lit up with a grin – she saw Stefan running towards the team and Tanner all dressed in uniform. Her lips etched further because she realised … he was taking her advice and trying out for the team.

Forgetting about the cheerleading, she started making her way over towards the steps of seats, leaning herself against the end so she could just watch. She wanted to see how good Stefan really was and besides, it not like she was doing anything productive before.

And Stefan was amazing; he scored practically every goal. She laughed a little to herself, seeing him dodge Tyler at least a dozen times. It was highly amusing. But suddenly when Stefan went to catch the ball that was meant for him, Tyler rammed him into the side when he jumped into the air. Olivia stifled a gasp, her eyes widening at the sight. She felt herself want to run towards him – to make sure he was okay, but refrained from doing so – not only would it get her a detention from Tanner but she knew Stefan would be okay. She had to remind herself that he was a vampire like her _and_ he's older so the pain tolerance would be slightly higher than her own.

" _Welcome to the team, buddy."_ Olivia pierced her hearing outwards just enough to hear Tyler's snarky words. Tyler was one of the teenagers of the population she really didn't like, as you can tell.

" _Think you're going to live, Salvatore?"_ Tanner called to him, actually looking a little concerned. What a surprise? It's probably only because if Stefan gets hurt, the team was screwed.

Stefan grunted, lifting his upper body off the ground _. "Yeah!"_

" _Walk it off, son."_

Matt ran over to Stefan, looking very apologetic, " _Sorry, man, that was my bad."_ He said guiltily. He held out his hand for Stefan to take, and he did – Matt lifted him up onto his feet.

" _It's alright."_ Stefan waved it off, not concerned, but his finger was hurting quite a lot.

When Matt ran off to the others, Olivia took advantage of the vampire hearing. "Stefan, are you okay?" Olivia said in her normal voice, looking at him with concern

Stefan was a bit surprised upon hearing her voice but turned around towards her direction - seeing her standing over by the seating area made him smile. _"I'm fine, don't worry."_ He told her, watching as her she let out a breath of relief. It's a good thing no one was around him; he'd probably seem crazy that he's basically talking to thin air.

"Alright." She nodded but looked back over to the girls and a sigh reached her again. It's best she gets back now, there was still a lot of moves to learn before Caroline would chop her head off for not even trying. "I better go – but I'm happy for you that you're on the team." She sent him an encouraging smile, knowing he could see her with his enhanced vision. She headed back towards the other cheerleaders, feeling Stefan's eyes follow her direction.

~ 8 ~

It was later that night when the three girls were gathered in the Gilbert kitchen, getting everything ready for Stefan to arrive in about ten minutes. Elena had planned everything; something of which Olivia couldn't help but be at least a little thankful for, there would have been no way that she'd think of something like this in order to get Bonnie to like Stefan. It might actually work.

Before actually heading back home, Olivia had to make her stop at the hospital – Bonnie and Elena thought she was just walking home, but really, it was a lie. Olivia had to take the short-cut through the forest with vampire speed in order to get back home in time to actually make it look like she walked home. Before leaving the hospital, while fighting her usual urges for blood, she was able to grab three blood bags. It wasn't much, but she knew that if more was to be taken too regularly – someone might actually find it suspicious. These three blood bags were gonna have to last her at least two weeks. That means more bunnies will be to be killed; something she wishes that never has to happen but to save people's lives – she must.

"Oh, come on, you explain it then." Bonnie exclaimed, standing by the kitchen counter while the Gilbert siblings prepared all the food – and by prepared, that meant plate up take out pasta that was made down the street. "Last night, I'm watching 'Nine-O' and a commercial break comes on. Next, I'm like, _'I bet it's that phone commercial!'_ and sure enough, it's that guy and the girl with the bench." She noticed the twins giving her a look, obviously not recognising the commercial she was talking about – it wasn't a very good description she was giving out. "He flies to Paris and he flies back," She continued, "They take a picture…"

"Oh, come on." Elena figured out the commercial her best friend was talking about. She looked towards Bonnie with a raised eyebrow, "That commercial's on a _constant_ loop."

Olivia would have pitched in, but honestly, it's been a couple of weeks since she's actually watched something on the television – whenever she's alone, it was usually reading or hiding in her room time.

"Fine," Bonnie relented, unable to disagree with that, "Well then, how about this?" She wanted to know what the twins would say to what's been happening to her today … other than her Stefan-episode freak-out. "Today, I'm obsessed with numbers."

"What do you mean?" Olivia wondered, frowning with interest.

"Three numbers." Bonnie answered, continuing with what she had been saying, "I keep seeing 8, 14 and 22." She looked between the two, "How weird is that?"

Elena didn't seem to take it too seriously but she did put on the façade of seriousness when she turned to the darker skinned girl, "Maybe we should play the lottery." She said, but when Bonnie sent her a 'bitch-face' a chuckle left her lips. She didn't seem to think these numbers could mean anything – she didn't fully believe that Bonnie was technically a witch either. There was just a lot of luck surrounding them, perhaps?

"Have you talked to your Grams?" Olivia wondered what the older woman would have said since if vampires were real … maybe Bonnie really was a witch? She honestly didn't really know what to think about that.

"No," Bonnie shook her head with a scoff, dumping the next pasta dish into a dinner bowl. "She's just gonna say its because I'm a witch. I don't want to be a witch-" She complained, looking between the twins, "-do either of you want to be a witch?"

Elena definitely did not, "I don't want to be a witch." Shaking her head.

Olivia, however, stayed silent – and Bonnie didn't push for an answer either. It wasn't that Olivia knew what her answer would be because sure, being a witch sounded pretty cool in the movies, books and everything else – but honestly, she thought it would be more than that. This was real life; not a fantasy. And besides, she's stuck being an undead creature for the rest of her eternal life – she couldn't really wish to be anything else other than that.

"You know, putting it in a nice bowl isn't going to make it a homemade meal." Bonnie chuckled, but deep down inside, she was just trying to rid herself of this nervous energy inside of her before Stefan gets here. A big part of her knew because of what she's observed that he's a good person – but that feeling she got the other night when she touched him, it was a worse feeling that when she touched Olivia.

Olivia couldn't help but smile a little at the comment, finding the humour. No one in this household could actually, physically cook. If you wanted the place burnt down … ask any of the Gilberts to cook your dinner. She went over to the fridge, getting out a bowl of salad to go with the pasta.

Elena ignored the comment, trying to remember where certain utensils were in the kitchen. She wasn't usually down here often for stuff like this so she had absolutely no idea where most things were. "Serving spoons." She mused to herself, "Where are those serving spoons?"

Without even looking up, Bonnie answered, "Middle draw on your left." Pointing towards one draw in particular. Olivia's eyebrows raised in surprised, impressed but also curious – was she right?

Elena sent her best friend a skeptical look, but looked in the draw that had been indicated anyway – and much to her surprise, there they were – the wooden serving spoons. She grabbed them, closing the draw slowly. "Okay, so you've been in this kitchen like a thousand times." She tried to make an explanation for all of them to believe.

Bonnie didn't believe that; the only times she's ever really here in the Gilbert house was in either Elena or Olivia's bedroom. "Yeah, that's it."

Suddenly the doorbell rang, startling all three of them. Olivia couldn't help but at least get a little excited about this, but all she could do was hope for everything to go well and that Elena's plan would work. Even though she and Bonnie weren't as close as Elena was; Bonnie was still a really good friend to her, feelings matter you see.

"I'll go get the door." Olivia offered before starting to head over to the front door; leaving Elena to perk Bonnie up a bit before having to be in the same room as Stefan again.

…

During dinner, the atmosphere couldn't get any more awkward and quiet – all you could hear was the tap of forks hitting the edges of the ceramic bowls. Olivia chewed through her pasta, keeping quiet – this is when her shyness usually came out with full force – she never knew what to say in order to keep a conversation going. Maybe this get-together dinner wasn't the best idea after all?

Luckily, Elena was trying to make conversation, "So, Stefan, I saw you on the field today with the guys – did Tanner let you on the team?" She turned towards him from her seat beside Bonnie – Stefan was sitting at the end of the table while Bonnie and Olivia were on each of his sides.

Stefan hummed, nodding his head, glancing over at her, "Yeah but Tyler still doesn't seem to like me."

"Well, Tyler's a just a jerk," Olivia commented, looking up from her bowl but then a conversation idea came to mind – she turned towards Bonnie with a smile, "Bon, you should have seen Stefan today when Tyler threw a ball at him, he–" She was cut off by the dark-skinned girl.

"-Yeah," Bonnie put out, not looking bothered – she just wanted silence and for this night to be over. "I heard."

Elena could sense things going downhill, so she tried another avenue to get Bonnie talking to Stefan, "Why don't you tell Stefan about your family?" She suggested to her best friend.

Bonnie didn't look too pleased, but after a moment, she turned towards the only guy in the room, "Um, divorced. No mom. Live with my Dad." She ran down the basics, getting the conversation over quickly once again.

Elena forced herself not to groan in frustration, "No, about the witches." She prodded. Stefan's head perked up with interest – he could work with this. Elena turned towards him, "Bonnie's family has a lineage of witches."

Olivia felt the need to comment, "It's pretty cool." Floating feathers sounded like fun.

Bonnie looked at the twins, not liking their choice of words, Olivia's in particular. "Cool isn't the word I'd use."

"Well, it's certainly interesting." Stefan spoke, looking fascinated on the subject – he did have a feeling that Bonnie was a direct descendant of Emily Bennett. His assumptions might very well be right. But really, he could use his knowledge in order to make a friendship between him and Bonnie – it seemed to mean a lot of Olivia.

Bonnie's head turned towards him with a spark of surprise in her eyes.

"I'm not too versed, but I do know that there's a history of Celtic Druids that migrated here in the 1800's." Olivia watched as Stefan caught Bonnie on his every word – this was the topic that was going to win her over.

"My family came by way of Salem." Bonnie wanted to know what he'd say towards that.

"Really?" Bonnie nodded sheepishly but Stefan leaned forwards, "Salem witches?"

Bonnie gave a small hesitant laugh, suddenly feeling like _she_ was the shy one in the room, "Yeah."

Stefan glanced over to his other side, sharing a look with Olivia which consisted of a smile – she was feeling more at ease now that Bonnie seemed to be responding well to him, "I'd say that's pretty cool." Using her choice of words this time. Even after certain events in the past – witchcraft has always been at least a small interest to him. It's one of the reasons he knew a bit more than usual about the Bennett line.

"Really?" Bonnie was no longer thinking about that terrible feeling she got – Stefan was actually winning her over. "Why?"

Stefan looked back towards her, explaining, "Salem witches are heroic examples of individualism … and non-conformity."

And that was it – Bonnie had been won over by the male vampire. "Yeah," She agreed, a large smile now plastered on her lips as she nodded, "They are." And before anything else could happen, the doorbell suddenly rang.

"Did you invite anyone else?" Olivia wondered, turning to her twin with confusion. She could hear at least one person breathing just outside the door after extending her hearing ability for a second. It couldn't be Jeremy because he would just stride in (probably high) and Jenna was out with a couple of friends from out of town tonight. It's why the girls pretty much had the night to themselves.

Elena shook her head, looking lost to whom it might be. "No." She answered before putting her fork down against the side of the bowl, getting up from the table. "I'll go see who it is, though." She headed down the mini-hallway towards the front door.

Olivia was about to take a sip from her glass when the sound of Caroline's voice hit her ears, " _Surprise."_ The glass was held just by her lips, but she placed it back onto the table carefully. Caroline had said she couldn't come after asking her during Cheerleading practice – what changed her mind?

Stefan seemed to be listening as well, but something sparked in his eyes and he knew it was trouble. " _Bonnie said you were doing dinner, so we brought desert."_

' _We_ _?'_ Olivia thought before her entire mood went down, realizing who it might be, ' _Oh, no'_

And her fear was confirmed, _"Hope you don't mind."_ Damon's voice was the one that hit her this time with full force. She got up from her seat quickly before making her way towards the door, Stefan following her – and her hearing was correct because standing just outside the barrier was Damon in all his arrogance.

Caroline was now inside but holding a berry cake in her hands, one that was probably made at the Grill and done for special order. Elena was next to her, but she couldn't seem to keep her eyes of the raven-haired hunk. She silently envied Caroline for having Damon as her boyfriend – it makes her remember how horribly single she was now.

"What are you doing here?" Stefan was immediately demanding from his brother, keeping close to Olivia who silently looked over towards her best friend – probably looking for any type of mark on her skin. And surprisingly, there didn't seem to be anything that could indicate Damon had been feeding on her, just like at school when Caroline arrived for practice.

Damon smirked, "I'm just waiting for Elena to invite me in." Elena looked more than happy too.

"Oh, yeah, you can just-" Stefan cut her off with a, "-No, no, no." He shook his head, sending his older brother a heated look. Damon couldn't be invited in … he just can't. Elena turned to him confused and was even more when Olivia didn't seem to say anything to help her out. "He can't, uh-he can't stay." Giving Damon a look, "Can you, Damon?" Praying he'd say he couldn't.

Caroline wasn't understanding the interaction and delay, neither was Elena, "Get in here." Caroline prodded towards her boyfriend, finding it silly that he's just standing outside the door.

"Care, we're just finishing up, so-" Olivia was cut off by her twin.

"-It's fine," Elena shook her head, a smile on her face again as she invited the older Salvatore into their home, "Just come on in."

Olivia had to stop herself from attacking Damon the moment his foot breached the doorway, coming in with a smug look on his face as he glanced between his brother and brother's girlfriend. "You have a beautiful home, Elena … Olivia." Sending a wink towards the young vampire, teasing her that he finally got an invite and she could do nothing about it. He looked over to Elena this time for just a little longer.

"Thank you." Elena blushed deeply, seeing him staring at her for longer than a few seconds.

Just like last time, Olivia noticed the exchange and worry grew for her twin – and right then she knew there was no way was she going to let Damon anywhere near her sister, even if it was the last thing she was going to do.

 **Note: I did think about letting this chapter go on all the way to the end of the dinner night, but then it would have probably gone to about 8,000+ words considering I wanted to add a few original scenes too. So I'll just stop it here and have the episode in four parts instead of three.**

 **I hope you loved the update!**

 **Follow, Fav and Follow!**


	11. 3-3 Awkward Gathering

**Vampire Diaries Fanfic | Dawn of a New Day | Friday Night Bites – Part 3**

After unsuccessfully being able to keep Damon from getting an invite into the house; everyone was now sitting on the sofas in the front room, drinking mugs of coffee and chatting. Well, _Caroline_ was chatting.

"I cannot believe Mr. Tanner let you on the team." She exclaimed, looking to Stefan with surprise – knowing the man would have never done that unless Stefan really was skilled enough to win them the prize this year. "Tyler must be _seething_." She shifted herself on Damon's lap, his arm wrapped around her waist – there were no other seats so she opted to sit in her boyfriend's lap. And it was a sofa chair, meaning only one could technically sit on it anyways.

Olivia and Stefan were sitting together on the small sofa while Bonnie and Elena sat together on the other one.

"But good for you," Caroline continued, about to take a sip of coffee from her mug. "Go for it." She placed her mug back onto the coffee table after taking her sip, snuggling back onto Damon's lap. Over to the side, Elena's eyes kept flicking towards the interaction with something dazzling in her eyes – longing?

Damon noticed this, smirking inside.

"That's what I always tell him. That you have to engage." Damon played the big brother who _really_ cared about his little brother's life. He looked over to Stefan, "You can't just sit there and wait for life to come to you." Amusement was practically riddling in his eyes, "You have to go get it." Really exaggerating.

Caroline seemed to agree, "Yeah, Liv wasn't so lucky today." She turned towards her best friend with a smile, "But it's only because you missed summer camp. We'll work on it together; you'll be your ship-shape self in no time." Olivia sent her a smile back but didn't really mean it. The idea didn't actually sound so fun to her anymore … it sounded like a lot more work than she can bare right now.

Damon took this opportunity for himself, "You know, Olivia … you don't seem like the cheerleading type." Looking towards the young vampire who hasn't spoken since his entrance into the house – but he obviously knew why.

Seeing Olivia not wanting to speak, Caroline took the spotlight again but this time, a little bitterness crawled into her last words without a filter button, "Oh, it's just because her parents died and then something happening in Chicago, something that she won't tell anyone … even me." Olivia couldn't help but tense at the mention of the City of her turning, but Bonnie and Elena were sending the blonde disapproving looks at the same time.

"Caroline." Bonnie scolded, wondering what was wrong with her – she'd never usually say something like that, especially so harshly towards Olivia.

Olivia took a sip of her coffee, ignoring the hurt she felt when Caroline finished her sentence. It wasn't that she didn't want to tell Caroline what had really happened to her, it's that she wanted her best friend to stay ignorant of all this Supernatural crap. Even when it came to her twin sister or anyone else she's close too … she didn't want them finding about her … condition. They'd look at her differently for one thing – maybe even show fear.

Her worst fear was that they become scared of her, thinking she wasn't their Olivia anymore.

At Bonnie's scolding, Caroline seemed to realise what she actually said to her best friend – someone who was almost like a sister. "I-I say that with complete sensitivity." She looked towards Olivia with an apologetic look now fixed into her features. The girl just sent a small smile back, waving it off – letting her know that it didn't bother her right now.

Which was a … small lie, but she learned to ignore it. It's just one of the never ending consequences to being what she was.

"I'm sorry Olivia … Elena," Taking a good look over to the twin he's had his eyes on for a while. Damon grinned secretly to himself, "I know what it's like to lose both your parents. In fact," Now looking over to Stefan, "Stefan and I have watched almost every single person we've ever cared for … die."

Stefan sent Damon a look but knew deep inside that it wouldn't work, "We don't need to get into that right now, Damon." His brother really was trying to stir up trouble where it wasn't needed. Stefan himself didn't realise that he had just fallen into a trap.

"Ah, you know, you're right Stefan." Damon faked a realization tone, "I'm sorry. The last thing I wanted to do was bring _her_ up." Olivia knew he meant Lyla and she tried to ignore it – she knew hardly anything about this girl, other than she was someone from Stefan's past … someone from when he was human.

But, to be fair, she hasn't made herself ask Stefan more about his past life as of yet. She's just been content with living in the now more than anything.

 _Damon Salvatore sure knew how to silence a room into an uncomfortable silence._

…

"Liv, I really am sorry for what I said back there." Caroline said to her best friend, drying the plate that had just been washed. After the awkward silence, Olivia had decided it was time to wash the dishes and Caroline offered to help. Caroline wasn't usually one to wash dishes and everything else – but she felt the really big need to apologise, she didn't understand why she said what she said earlier and it was really bugging her.

Olivia just sent her a small smile, understanding. "It's fine, Caroline." She waved it off, already having the gut feeling that Damon somewhat had something to do with it. And even if he wasn't – she HAD been keeping things from the blonde whose been a big part of her life. Elena may be her twin but sometimes Caroline had been more of a sister to her than anything. She could tell that Damon also really had no limits for either hurting humans or even compelling them.

If only she could get some vervain to protect the ones she loved – but where?

Then everyone she cares about would be protected from both Damon and herself if she becomes out of control – not that she expected too given how much she's progressed since meeting Stefan, but still – _just in case._

Suddenly a voice sounded from behind them – one that Caroline was happy to hear but not so much for Olivia, "Well, aren't you two some very busy beavers." The voice was lingering between cocky and amused – making it all the more familiar.

Damon.

While Olivia didn't react in a pleasant way, Caroline smiled widely at the entrance of her boyfriend, turning away from the plate drying to look over at him. "Damon, you've come to help." She looked pleased with her own assumption.

Damon scrunched up his nose, "No, thanks." He muttered before looking straight into Caroline's eyes, putting her under his spell once again, "Why don't you go and hang around with the others." He compelled. The blonde blinked and a previous blank look turned into a smile, she placed the plate and the towel in her hands back onto the counter before making her way out of the kitchen.

Any minuscule happy feelings that Olivia had before Damon arrived were completely vanquished by now – her eyes turned into a glare, watching as Caroline was forced against her choices to leave the room. Now leaving her and Damon all alone. Her fist clenched and she sent him a look – he should have the decency to realise why she was acting this way.

Damon rolled his eyes, seeing the look before wiggling his pointed finger towards her, "Oh, don't get all judgy with me Stefan 2.0." He moved forwards to grab the wet plate from Olivia's hands before taking the towel Caroline had been using earlier to dry. He began to dry the plate for her.

Olivia never let her glare go, standing up for her best friend, "You can't just compel people whenever you feel like it." She knew she stood no chance against him, especially in a fight. Lexi once said that an older vampire nearly always wins in the strength category but one could win if a younger vampire was extremely angry and protective. She silently imagined in the back of her head that she snapped Damon's neck – it's not like he'll die from it. But when he wakes up … god knows what would happen then.

"Ah, but I can Olivia." He corrected her, sending over a smirk, "I can do whatever I like and neither you nor my little brother can do anything about it. But-" He paused, holding up a hand to stop her from speaking when she was about to – his facial features dropped, the smirk losing its place and a serious one replaced it. It almost looked unnatural for a guy like Damon Salvatore. "-if it helps … I haven't bitten Caroline once and I don't plan to either."

At that, Olivia's eyes narrowed even further, she couldn't tell if she should believe him or not. "And why should I even believe a word that comes out of your mouth?" She countered.

Damon just shrugged, "Believe or don't believe – it's up to you." He leaned against the counter, still looking at her. "Besides, like I said back when you first met me – you're feisty and I like that. You're good for my brother too, better than Lyla and that's something I don't vocally admit … _ever_ , especially when he might hear me from the next room." He knew Stefan wouldn't hear him, though – his brother was probably secretly checking over Caroline for any type for vampire marks he might have left on her.

Olivia was silent for a moment, but only because confusion was taking over a big part of her mind. Damon, from what Stefan had been telling her had basically switched off his emotional switch and that's why he acts like such a dick. But, what he's saying right now and if the words were true … it sounded like he did have at least some part of his emotions still attached. She wasn't really sure if she should believe him or not and he hasn't really given her any incentive to trust him since their meeting. People were dead and Vicki had been in the hospital because of him.

Although, she did like the part about her being better for Stefan than the mysterious Lyla had been.

Within her own thoughts, Olivia turned towards the sink again and began washing more dishes. She could feel Damon's gaze on her, almost as if he were waiting for some reply after what he had just said.

But, she stayed silent.

"I'd quit cheerleading if I were you." Damon broke the silence, continuing the conversation after realizing he wasn't going to get any kind of response from his earlier mini-speech.

Olivia glanced over to him, holding out a newly washed plate for him to dry. If he was going to stay with her and continue to talk – he can dry for her. "And why do you think that?" She questioned back, even though it's something she's actually been considering ever since becoming a vampire. Handling the bloodlust was one thing but cheerleading just didn't feel fun anymore.

"Cause I saw you at practice." He answered back, indeed taking the plate she was holding out before drying it. "Pushing aside the glares you sent me and that urge to rip out everyone's throat - I could see how you really felt about being there at practice. You looked _miserable_." He placed the dry plate to the side before looking at her with a raised eyebrow, "You can deny it all you want but I know I'm right." He said cockily, gaining that smirk back.

Olivia should be scolding herself for even thinking about opening up to the guy but she continued the conversation against her better judgement.

She let out a breath, "I used to love it and it would always be the thing that got me excited for school." She admitted, shrugging her shoulders a little. "Things are different, though; too many things have changed." After scrubbing the next plate and rinsing it, she passed the object over to the older vampire. "Everything that used to matter just doesn't seem to now."

"So, don't let it." Damon gave a blunt reply, almost as if it were common sense. He placed the next plate to the side, waiting for the next one, "Quit, move on and the problem is solved. Ta-da!" Wiggling his fingers in the air which actually gained a small chuckle from Olivia.

"It's not that easy." Olivia shook her head, not wanting to take advice from a psychotic vampire.

"But it can be – you're just not letting yourself believe it."

 **Note: Yes, this is very short, I really should have put these two scenes in the last chapter shouldn't I?**

 **The next chapter will hold the last of the episode. Another thing, I know that there are a lot of Delena fans (I am too) but this story focuses mainly on Olivia and Stefan with a few clips of Damon and Elena when needed.**

 **Follow, Fav and Review!**


	12. 3-4 The Death of Coach Tanner

**IMPORTANT! Major Flaw! – After a comment, it was realised that I never put in anything about Olivia's ring. I honestly thought I did and maybe I have in later chapters, but I couldn't see it.** _ **Olivia's ring was found on her hand when she woke up – someone had put in on her finger before she woke up in transition.**_ **I've written this into the prologue for future readers.**

 **Vampire Diaries Fanfic | Dawn of a New Day | Friday Night Bites – Part 4**

It was Friday afternoon and Olivia found herself staring down at the red, black and white uniform lying on her bed. The only type of clothing anyone would ever see her wearing that showed a lot of skin – she was the shy girl and being a cheerleading had been a sort of outlet for her to be 'not-herself'. A day of acting like 'Olivia the social butterfly' with an amazing talent of cheerleading. But, it didn't feel like that anymore and to be honest, she couldn't even bring herself to remember those times. The times when just being human was enough.

Tonight was the opening game for the season and Stefan was going to be playing with the team tonight. She was very proud of him for getting on the team and a little boastful towards herself for pushing him to do so – she knew it was the right decision on getting him in that direction. She wanted to cheer for him as 'Olivia the Cheerleader' but being on the squad just didn't feel realistic anymore. She hated to say it, or even think it, but Damon might actually be right on what needed to be done.

Cheerleading was her past, one that she needed to move on from and be the person she is right now. And at this moment – she just wanted to be on the sidelines and cheer with others in the crowd. She wanted to be the supportive girlfriend and to give him her full attention. Not concentrating on whether or not she'll miss a beat or stumble through the next step. Even with Caroline's help the last few days – her movements weren't as good as they used to be. It's actually pretty hilarious, especially since she's a vampire, her skills should have improved, not gotten worse. Maybe her lack of motivation was the cause of her misgivings?

She glanced over to a picture under her wall mirror, on top of her chest of drawers, it was a photo of her in the school's cheerleading outfit in the front yard. It was taken just a few months before she left for Chicago – the last happy moment as a high school cheerleading student.

"Okay." She said to herself quietly, making up a final decision that would give her A LOT of free time on her hands. "I quit."

…

At the same time, Stefan was in his own room, writing in his diary like he has done everyday since first catching a glimpse of Olivia Gilbert. The pen scratched against the pages, his train of thought leaking onto the blank pages in front of him.

 _There must be a shred of humanity left inside of my brother. Somewhere deep down inside and I keep hoping. But, how do I make him see it? And how do I help Olivia protect the ones she loves from him?_

 _Olivia said that when Damon talked to her, she could see something in him, something hidden. Is she right? Is there really something in my brother I can bring back to life? If so, just how do I do that?_

As he placed his pen down to the side, a sudden memory coming back to him, a particular one at that. He got up from the chair and moved himself to one of his many shelving units, grabbing onto a small locked box on one of the higher levels. Bringing it back over to the table, he unlocked it before rummaging through for the specific item he thought of. And right at the bottom, he brought it out and into the light – it was a thin-chained necklace with a baby bird engraved locket hanging from it.

The necklace was his mother's and he knew exactly whom he wanted to wear it.

…

It was still light as everyone began setting up for the game; people were already cheering for Mystic Fall's own 'Timberwolves' and many kids were starting to get either high or drunk way before the game was even to begin. Olivia, on the other hand, was standing on her own, looking around the area for Stefan, hoping he'll arrive soon. She was dressed in her usual clothing and not a sight of red could be seen. No cheerleader outfit anyway, and she hasn't even fessed up to Caroline yet about her ultimate cheerleading decision.

She was also looking around warily for her best friend – hoping it wouldn't crush the blonde that she wouldn't be on the squad anymore.

And suddenly, she saw Stefan walking her way, and boy, did he look good in that jersey. Much better than her imagination could have come up with upon suggesting the idea of him joining the team. At the moment she noticed him, the smile on her lips instantly lifted and the same happened to him as he edged closer.

"Well, look at you." She began, tilting her head as if she were properly examining him, "You look _very_ good in that jersey." Adjusting the bag strap crossing her chest with a little nervous energy bubbling inside. Inside the bag was a small bottle of animal blood, just in case the crowd and the night got to much for her. She expected a lot of bodies surrounding this place today and she still wasn't fully confident in her ability to keep away the bloodlust in certain situations. Especially in the past when there have been fights broken out … blood spilt … ect…

Stefan's smile widened at that when he became less than a meter from when she stood. The part that made him happy was how confident and calm she was acting as of this moment, despite that little inch of nervousness he noticed. Months ago when he first started watching her, she was a completely different person. More reserved and she barely ever smiled – mostly because she had been concentrating on not killing people. But he was more than glad to say that he was finally seeing the Olivia that had probably been hidden away since before Chicago.

He also loved the compliment; he probably would've blushed if he were human still.

It was then that he noticed the lack of a cheerleader outfit. "What happened?" He asked, wondering why she wasn't in uniform, but he did have a pretty good idea why. He had noticed the lack of enthusiasm when it came to the sport. "No more cheerleader?"

"Yeah, I quit." Olivia gave a small sheepish shrug, glancing down at her attire before looking back up to her boyfriend. "I'm a quitter."

"Oh, no…" Stefan shook his head, reaching forwards to grasp her hands, "You, Olivia Gilbert, are definitely NOT a quitter." Meaning in more sense than one. "You're not the same person you were once before and that's completely okay. Your looking ahead, moving on and starting over."

Throughout his little speech, Olivia was completely focused on him and everything around her just ceased to exist. He really knew how to use his words.

"Okay?" He raised an eyebrow to her, almost teasingly daring her to object against his observations.

"Okay." Olivia nodded with agreement, a shy but content smile on her lips while a fluttery feeling kept bouncing around in her heart.

Stefan suddenly shifted when he let go of her hands, looking a bit hesitant but spoke anyway, "I hope you don't think this is too soon or too weird, but I, uh…" He got out a small box from his jeans pocket and brought it up to view. "I wanted you to have this." The tiny little brown box opened in front of her and inside was a very beautiful necklace. Olivia had never seen one like it before to be quite honest.

"Oh, my god … wow." She breathed, pausing for a moment but then reached forwards to take hold of the necklace inside the box. It was a thin silver chain with a locket on it, but the design engraved had a bird on it, one she hasn't seen in real life before. Not in any books either for that matter. "It's beautiful."

The hesitation seemed to flow out of Stefan within in an instant when he got the reaction he hoped for from his girlfriend, "It's a necklace my mother cherished when she passed it down to me and I've never wanted to give it to anyone … until now."

"Oh, no, Stefan I can't-" She began to decline, hearing it was his mother's and she was about to put it back into the little box but he stopped her before she could even begin to. He placed his hands on hers, cocooning the necklace within their conjoined grasps.

"-I'd very much like it if you'd wear it for me." Stefan continued, and there was something inside this locket she'll notice pretty quickly as well. It was surprising that she hadn't smelled it yet actually. "For good luck."

Olivia was silent for a moment but slowly began to nod, sending him a thankful look in her eyes. The necklace really did look beautiful and it really meant a lot to her that he's even considered giving her something this precious. The giddy part of her inside wanted to sing and dance, knowing for sure that Stefan truly did care about her a lot – the same as she did for him. "Okay." She accepted and she was about to say something else but the catch of a sweet stench caught her senses.

Looking down, she realised it was coming from the locket in her hands. Slipping from Stefan's hands, she brought the necklace up to her nose and the smell grew more potent. A small cough left her mouth at how strong it was but then she realised what the smell was – it was very familiar for some reason. "Is that-?" Not wanting to say the name out loud, just in case anyone overheard.

Stefan nodded, confirming her assumption. "It's not much but it should be enough to put in a piece of jewelry for Elena and Jeremy." He placed the last amount of Vervain he had inside the locket, mostly because he hoped Damon wouldn't notice this morning. Luckily the locket was thick enough so it wouldn't burn Olivia – he made sure that it wouldn't happen before even thinking of putting the herb inside.

"Stefan…" She really didn't know what to say. With Vervain she'd be able to keep vampires like Damon from compelling her brother and sister, a fear that's roamed with her since becoming one herself. It would be two less worries off her shoulder. She would just have to make sure Damon lived up to his word on staying away from Caroline and not compelling/biting her. "Thank you." Her heart swelled even more than she thought possible.

"I should be the one thanking you." He replied back with content, taking the necklace from her hand before beginning to securing it around her neck with care from behind. "For pushing me the way you did to try out for the team." He clipped the two ends of the chain together and now the necklace was hanging around her neck. She slowly turned back around to him, "It feels really good."

Olivia smiled to herself proudly, already knowing she had done right in that department, "Well, we are a pair." She said back, "I quit and you start." A small giggle left her lips, one that she's never really done before meeting Stefan.

"We're a work in progress." Stefan changed before holding her hands once again, looking down into her eyes. He sent her a reassuring look, "We'll figure it out." There was a moment between them where everything turned silent and before they knew it, their lips touched with a kiss. It lasted for a couple of seconds before Stefan pulled back, unfortunately knowing that Tanner would have his ass (vampire or not) if he was late for the before-game meet up.

With a silent longing goodbye, Stefan passed through the crowd, leaving a very satisfied Olivia in his wake. Every time he kisses her, she can't help but remember the first time on the night of the Comet. It felt magical, as stupid as that may sound, but those flutters inside her heart always twist and turn at the speed of light.

Suddenly, she was jolted out of her gaze by a familiar voice appearing from behind … Caroline.

"And you're not in uniform because…?" Olivia winced to herself, taking a deep breath before slowly turning around to face her fate. Her best friend was standing her, hands on her hips and all plucked and ready for the game in less than a few hours. Caroline continued to stare at her with cocked eyebrows as if daring her to lie because it would do her no good.

"Caroline, I-" Olivia started to say, wanting to explain herself but all the blonde did was hold up her palm – stopping her from talking. This led to an inch of confusion building in the brunette.

"I know what you're going to say." Caroline began with a sigh, dropping the stern look before her shoulders heaved downwards. "And it's okay." She assured her best friend. "It's okay if you want to quit the team."

Olivia blinked, "Really?" Unsure if that's how she really felt. Honestly, she thought leaving the team would leave some damage but right now, that didn't seem too likely.

"Yes, _really_." The blonde replied, reaching forwards to grab the brunette's hands, "I know a retired cheerleader when I see one and as long as you come to every single one of our games, I have no problem accepting it." A teasing smile lifted on her lips, making a tiny blackmail deal between them. There was no way she was letting Olivia miss any of the games even if she wasn't going to cheer anymore. She had noticed the lack of motivation between their catch-up sessions and her mind always seemed to be elsewhere these days. She'd still see her best friend all the time so it wasn't much of a big deal.

Olivia couldn't help but chuckle, even if she was being blackmailed by the one girl who knows her more than anyone, "Okay." She agreed readily. The games were actually never that bad and she'd always support Caroline as being the cheerleading Captain – there was also the pointer where her sister was actually still in the squad too. So at least Caroline had one Gilbert to contend with for now.

…

Night fell pretty quickly and the place was packed with people – so much so that Olivia needed a good sip of that animal blood long before she estimated in needing it. She left half still in the bottle just in case another urge became too strong. She just hoped no blood would be spilt tonight because things could end in disaster if her bloodlust wasn't controlled to the max.

"ALL RIGHT, ALL RIGHT – QUIET DOWN!" The man over the P.A system boomed over the mass of students and this man was Mr. Tanner himself. Everyone was cheering around him, excited for the game to start and for their team to finally win for a change. The team was lined up in a row in front of Tanner, just below the stage where he was standing, and the front was crowded with other students.

Olivia had to push herself carefully through a bunch of people, watching her strength during this but finally made it to the front of the line. She could see Stefan with the other guys, two over from Matt and Tyler – you could still see Tyler giving off a few dirty looks towards the vampire. Over to the other side, she saw the cheerleaders doing what they do best – Bon, her twin, and Caroline all excited in what they cheered with the crowd.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait…" Tanner continued until the crowd became stable enough to talk over – he wanted to make sure everyone could hear his voice. "Now, let's be honest here." Stefan and Olivia connected gazes as he continued, "In the past, we used to let other teams come into _our_ town and roll right over us!"

The crowd booed in response with thumbs pointing downwards.

"But that is about to change," Tanner lifted up on a higher note and the crowd began cheering once again. "We've got some great new talent starting tonight on the offensive line." Olivia began clapping with everyone else, knowing exactly who was being mentioned at that moment. A few of the team began patting Stefan on the shoulder, also knowing who their Captain was about to mention. "And I'm gonna tell you right now-" A beam lifted on the teachers lips, "-it has been a _long time_ since I have seen a kid like this with hands like these. Let's give it up for … Stefan Salvatore!"

As the speech continued, everyone was more than hyped up for the game to begin – everyone feeling like they actually had a massive shot at winning this time around. At one point, Tyler decided to leave with a bad look on his face and Matt just looked annoyed and exasperated.

Olivia continued to listen but suddenly her brother's grunt caught her sharp hearing, and following that was the shatter of a broken glass. Her feet seemed to move themselves when she started passing through the crowd but she didn't notice that Stefan's head had perked up too. When she pushed through the crowd to the other side, she heard Vicki screaming for Tyler to stop something. And suddenly, her eyes felt ablaze when she saw Tyler kicking her little brother in the stomach. Her protective instincts were telling her to rip the guy away from her brother, maybe even throw him into the side of a car or snap his neck – but refrained from doing so with difficulty. She quickly moved closer _without_ running vampire speed.

As the noise started rising, everyone started to turn around to see what the commotion was all about.

Stefan had gotten close enough to stop Tyler's next punch, "Hey!" He shouted, grabbing the guy's arm before the next hit could blow against the younger teenager's face. "He's down, that's enough!" Tyler turned around to glare at Stefan and not even a second later, throwing the punch intended for Jeremy – attempting to hit the vampire in the stomach, but all he got was nothing upon impact. Stefan didn't react to it at all – creating an instant bewildered look covering the Lockwood's face. Tyler's hand started throbbing at the force.

On the ground, Jeremy got his footing back and started scrambling up to his feet - the broken top of the glass bottle he had been holding was quickly grabbed by his hand. He didn't really know what he was doing, and he didn't know what he had done until it was too late but his mind was seeing nothing but the hatred for Tyler and what he does to Vicki.

"Jeremy, no!" Elena's scream filled the air as he rushed up from the ground, intending to cut Tyler from behind. But suddenly, Tyler was pushed out of the way and another arm that tried to stop the cut didn't make it in time – it hit someone else.

Olivia.

Jeremy stumbled back with a horrified look on his face, realizing what he had just done. The bottle in his hand crashed against the glass and it was in that second that Elena stepped in, pushing him away from their sister. "What the hell, Jeremy!"

She should've just tried to grab her brother's wrist but instead the slice went right through her palm. Olivia could feel the cut cleanly and winced when the burn started to appear – it was a good thing it wasn't too long ago that she had some blood thrown down her throat because she could already feel it starting to repair itself. She felt arms wrap around her from the side, blocking her from everyone else's view and Stefan's cologne hit her. _"Close you hand."_ He quietly told her, noticing her staring down at her palm.

Olivia quickly closed her hand and in doing so, she prayed to god that no one saw the hint of red on her hand.

Over to the side, Matt was pushing away Tyler angrily, taking the douche away from doing any more damage to a situation he already caused.

"God, Liv, I am so sorry-" Jeremy tried to apologise with a crack in his voice, the horror still riddling in his eyes, shaking his head in disbelief for what he had done. He felt it – he cut her. He was sure it had gone pretty deep too.

Elena turned around, seeing Olivia clenching her hand tightly, "Oh, my god, your hand." She remembered seeing a red substance on it when she passed, just before trying to push Jeremy away. She ignored her brother, walking towards her twin with a deep concern in her eyes. "How deep is it?" She tried to reach for her sister's hand but Olivia tried moving it away, denying anything was wrong.

"Elena, I'm fine, nothing happened I swear." She tried to say but Elena was having none of it – she grabbed her hand and pulled it towards her. Olivia tried to stop her sister but knew it would be futile to even try – she just needed a few extra seconds for the healing to complete and then they'll be absolutely no marks left. At this point; Jeremy had stumbled away from the scene, no doubt pressing guilt on himself for the injury he had just caused his favorite sister to get.

"Liv, I know you hate blood but I have to see how bad it is." Elena scolded her, not resisting when she tried to open up the hand. "Olivia, come on-" And finally Olivia's hand opened without any resistance at all and it showed something that wasn't expecting – there was absolutely nothing there. No red blood marks, only a thin red crease in the middle of the palm and a few specks of blood around in. But not the deep gash she expected.

Elena had no words left in her, "B-but I saw-" She stuttered, shaking her head, wondering if she was seeing things. She was sure there had been a deep cut mark in her sister's hand – but if she had, where had it gone? And only in a matter of seconds?

"I'm fine, Lena." Olivia tried to reassure, pretending nothing happened at all. She felt that familiar deep pressure inside that always cropped up the moment she started lying to the ones she loved. "Seriously, he didn't get me, if you saw something then it must have been the trick of the light. I'm fine, Lena." She repeated. She rubbed her hand against her pants leg, "See, it's not my blood – it's must have been from when I pushed Tyler."

Elena just stood there gobsmacked, just staring at her sister's hand in disbelief. She wasn't sure what to think – she knew for a fact that there had been at least something there much bigger than a few drops of red and that only one thing could have been blood.

Olivia glanced over to Stefan who was still next to her and he was clearly sending her worried looks – Elena had seen something that could grow into something much bigger. Her twin loved to figure out things and a mystery like this – it had Olivia fearful inside.

"I-I should go find Jeremy." Olivia told Elena, trying to figure out a way to get out of there. The atmosphere was becoming a little pressing on her, "He should know he didn't do anything to me." She turned towards Stefan, "And it'll be kick-off time soon so you'll need to get ready." She sent him a silent look that clearly told him she'll be fine. "I'll see you after the game, okay?"

Stefan nodded reluctantly but before he left, he kissed the top of her head, whispering, " _Everything will be okay_." He reassured her and felt in return a small nod. He walked away with her small smile being sent back towards him.

When he went, Olivia turned back to her sister once more, the one who was still shaking her head in confusion. "Lena, I'll see you after the game as well." Those were the last words before she too disappeared into the crowd, hoping she was heading towards Jeremy's direction. But right now she just wanted to be away from this place for the time being to think back on what had just happened.

…

Elena was still in a funk by the time she made it round to the other cheerleaders, and more particularly, Bonnie. Caroline was barking order towards some of the newer recruits to put up a banner in time for the game to start and Bonnie was waiting over to the side, looking around, and when the dark-skinned girl noticed Elena coming over – she smiled.

"There you are." Bonnie looked relieved, her shoulders lifting down, "Where have you been?"

Elena passed by that question with her own one, "Can I ask you a question?" She asked, looking hesitant but she really needed to know the answers. There was something about what just happened that didn't feel right – she didn't exactly know why, but there was a sinking feeling in her stomach. Bonnie paused, looking towards her best friend carefully with a measure of concern, "And you give me a really serious _no-joke_ response?"

"Of course," Bonnie readily agreed, but still worried by something new sparking in Elena's eyes. "What is it?"

Elena took a deep breath, almost preparing herself for what she was about to say, "That bad mojo – when you touched Liv and you had that … reaction." All she knew was the brief picture Bonnie saw but there was something more to that, something Bonnie hadn't gotten into with her.

"Oh no, forget I said that." Bonnie waved what she saw off, knowing she shouldn't have put so much of her worries into what happened in that little vision. She's known Olivia her whole life – a stupid vision wasn't going to break that, especially when Olivia had already denied it too. "Seriously, I really don't know what got over me." She made a small laugh to herself.

But Elena wasn't laughing, she was serious, "No, Bon, I'm serious." She wanted the answer. "What was it? What more did you see other than Liv in that alley way?"

When Bonnie saw the seriously stubborn look cross Elena's face, she knew there was no getting out of it. With a relenting sigh, she began explaining the best she could, "It wasn't exactly what I saw that got me, it was the feeling I felt during it. It felt much deeper than anything I've ever felt before. Like today, I keep seeing those same numbers I told you about – 8, 14, 22." Her voice started to shaking, "And when I touched Olivia …"

Elena wanted to know more, "What was it?"

"It was a dark feeling and it vibrated through me and it was _cold_ … it-" Bonnie's breath caught in her throat but when Elena pushed her again, she finally said it out loud, something she's kept hidden from everyone. "It was death … it's what I imagine death to be like. And when I touched Stefan – I got an even stronger vibe from him. I don't know why … but I just did."

…

"Nice trick with the necklace." Damon complimented, pushing himself off the back wall before speeding in front of his brother, making sure Stefan didn't walk away from him. He smelt the Vervain the moment he saw Stefan this morning and he knew exactly where his little brother was going to take it – or show we say - who. "I admit in saying I was a little surprised you were giving Olivia mother's necklace but as for the Vervain, I'm really not shocked."

"So…" Damon continued, smirking with a raised eyebrow, "How'd you get it?" Referring to the special herb that was toxic to vampires.

"Does it matter?" Stefan retorted back, not telling him anything. He started to walk past his brother before heading towards the building he was currently supposed to be getting ready in.

Damon didn't turn around to follow, but a thoughtful tone leaked his voice, "You do know that Vervain won't stop me from snapping Elena's little neck or draining her dry. And even if I don't do either of those things, I can always just seduce her the old fashion way." It was already working too – she was already lusting after him. He listened to Stefan's slowly stopping footsteps and he smirked wider, knowing he got his brother's full attention back.

Stefan slowly turned around but instead of acting the way Damon thought he would (scared of something that might eventually come to pass) he was actually standing there with a small knowing smile on his lips. Damon couldn't help but furrow a brow momentarily, wondering what was going through that head of his. "No." Stefan shook his head. "You're not going to hurt Elena, Damon."

"Oh, really?" Damon countered, turning himself fully around, walking towards his little brother so only a small meter gap remained between them. "And what makes you say that?"

"Because _deep_ down inside, there is a part of you that feels for her and … I was worried that you had no humanity left inside of you; that you may have actually become the monster you pretend to be." Stefan wanted to finally get through to his brother and he knew Elena was the way to his heart. Whether Damon would admit it out loud or not.

"Who pretending?" The older Salvatore butted back, not looking too concerned but kept listening anyway.

Everything went silent for a moment before Stefan spoke again with a daring tone.

"Then kill me."

Damon blinked at the blunt suggestion but then began to look careless like he usual does, "Well, I'm … I'm tempted." But made no move to do so in order to fill that temptation.

"No, you're not," Stefan said with a degree of knowledge, knowing his brother wouldn't kill him. Even through everything – they were still brothers, no matter how broken their relationship had become. And deep down inside, he really wanted to fix the relationship they used to have – before Lyla and Katherine came into the picture. "And you've had lifetimes to do it but still, here I am." Throwing his arms out, showing he was still there. "I'm still alive. And there you are … still haunting me after 145 years."

"Katherine is _dead_." Stefan continued in a hard tone, trying further to bring up some of that humanity he knows is still inside his brother. "And you hate me because it's my fault she's gone – because you _loved_ her. And you torture me because you still do even after all this time."

"And that, my brother." Damon wasn't looking towards him but a blank look was crossing his features, "Is your _humanity._ "

Suddenly, a voice from behind sounded very loudly, "Salvatore!" Mr. Tanner shouted, coming out of the team's locker room. He was heading over towards Stefan and the mystery guy he's never seen before, "What the hell?" He questioned, looking a little pissed because Stefan still wasn't in uniform. They had a game to win! "We've got a game to play!"

The previous blank look on Damon's face suddenly shifted into his usual cocky one, a prominent smirk on his face, "If that's my humanity." He started, glancing over to the teacher with dangerously hungry eyes, "Then … what's this?" As soon as the last words left his mouth, he disappeared from in front of Stefan and appeared in front of Mr. Tanner with black veins crawling under his eyes, his eyes spearing with a ruby red tint and his fangs elongated fully.

Stefan's eyes widened, his feet unable to move because it was too late, "No!" He shouted, but it was no use - Mr. Tanner's body dropped to the ground lifelessly within seconds, his eyes open with a glassy shine to them. His heart stopped beating and his body was drained dry – Damon had killed him.

Damon let out a small growl while turning around to his brother, blood dripping from his mouth – his teeth coated with the teacher's life-force. "Anyone, anytime, and any place." Showing his brother that everything meant nothing to him – even him. He was still going to make Mystic Fall's life a living hell as long as he's around and he was going to have fun doing it too.

…

It actually took a while but Olivia was finally able to find her brother; he was sitting behind the bleachers with a can of beer pressed against his head, no doubt trying to numb a headache appearing within that thick skull of his. She moved closer, "Jeremy?" She called over to him and her voice alone made his head pop up with surprise. He looked over at her, obviously not thinking he'd see her for the rest of the night for what he had done her. At least, what he thought he had done her.

"How bad was it?" He asked mournfully, looking away this time. Needing to know what damage he caused to her hand – let alone the slowly building relationship that had started again between them. They were finally getting past a few things to become the brother and sister they used to be, but then he had to go and screw it up _again_ , "Was it deep?" Remembering the feeling of cutting through skin – it was painfully easily to remember.

Olivia went over to him, sitting herself beside him with her legs crossed underneath her. She swallowed hard, and for a second she actually eyed the blood still crawling down the side of his face from Tyler's beating. She could feel the familiar pressure against her gums, that her teeth wanted to come out. _'No!'_ She shouted towards her inner demon, _'Stop it! He's your baby brother!_ ' It's a good thing he hadn't been looking towards her because he probably would have seen minuscule little black lines under her eyes for just a fraction of a second.

After a deep breath, calming her inner-self and pushing away those urges the best she could, she finally spoke with a comforting tone, "Jeremy, look, nothing happened, see?" She held out the hand that originally had the deep cut in it. "You never cut me so there's absolutely no reason for you to feel guilty."

Jeremy looked over after a second, and she was right, there was absolutely nothing visible on either palm of her skin. "What the hell-?" He breathed while taking a double-take, not understanding. He reached forwards, grasping her hand, actually poking it to see if he's imagining things. "B-But I thought?..." Maybe he's had way too many beers tonight? It wouldn't have been the first time.

"I swear to you, Jeremy." Olivia told him with a hard tone of assurance in her voice, "You didn't cut me and even if you did, I wouldn't have held it against you. And even though Tyler _is_ a dick, you should NEVER do something like what you did again. Do you understand me?" The hard look now radiating from her eyes, making her look a touch scary to Jeremy himself. But he knew, he deserved this. As stupid as it may sound coming from a vampire; violence doesn't solve problems, at least, not in many situations.

Jeremy started to nod, looking very apologetic, "Liv, I really am sorry." He's just feeling so messed up all the time these days – like he was falling down a never-ending tunnel towering downwards towards a pit of nothing.

Olivia could see it; she knew he was telling the truth and she was glad. "I know." She was about to move over to hug him but something in the air made her tense, something very strong – blood. It wasn't too far away either because the strong stretch wafted under her nose like a buffet. She bowed her head and a small groan left her lips, her hand lifting to her mouth – she tried breathing in and out, trying to stop the veins from crawling underneath her eyes. Luckily she had her hair down today so if fell in front of her face.

Jeremy heard the groan and he looked to his sister with confusion, but then concern when he noticed the way she was sitting – her head bowed and body bent over a little. Almost like she was about to be sick. "Are you okay?" He moved to reach forwards, about to touch her shoulder but her hand came up to stop him – almost too quickly.

"N-No, I'm fine, I-I just-" Olivia swallowed, "-I'm just not feeling well so I'm gonna head to the bathroom." She started clambering to her feet, letting go of her brother's hands but keeping her face out of sight, "After the game I'm taking you straight back home and don't drink anymore alcohol – I mean it." She said lastly before backing away, almost rushing away from her brother. The small amount of blood streaking down his face was one thing but whoever that smell was coming from – it was more than just a scratch she was smelling.

…

"I can't believe Tanner's dead." Olivia shook her head, but she could believe that Damon was the 'animal' behind the attack. It was Tanner she had smelled – it was her history teacher she had wanted to devour just an hour ago before getting her hunger under control. That last half bottle of animal blood really helped keep her demon down enough to control it and it wasn't long before she found Stefan – he told her exactly what had gone down.

She really thought there was some kind of humanity left inside Damon just as Stefan had thought so, especially after the way the older Salvatore talked about caring for his younger brother's life. But she was wrong – and now someone was dead – because of _her_. "This is my fault." She breathed in the realization, "I'm the one who said there was something left in him. That he wasn't that psychotic vampire he's making everyone out to see him as. I'm the one who even put an ounce of trust in him." She could feel her eyes starting to water, a great weight forming in her gut.

"No," Stefan stopped her before she could continue beating herself up. He placed his hands on her cheeks gently, making her look up at him, seeing the brim of water starting to accumulate against the corners of her eyes. "It is not your fault, Liv. If it's anyone's, it's _mine_. I'm the one who provoked him – it's _my_ responsibility."

Olivia shook her head; it was still at least partly her fault and her mind had already been made up, in her mind it'll always tell her it's her fault that Tanner was dead. The guy may have been a dick but he was still a human being. Maybe she should have just kept her mouth shut?

"How'd it go with Jeremy?" He tried to push her away from the subject of either Tanner or his brother.

She sniffed, "I think he'll be fine. He'll sum up anything he saw to the amount of alcohol he drank tonight, but Elena…" Her voice stopped, remembering the looks her sister kept having. She hasn't seen her twin since the incident but she's probably over with Bonnie and Matt grieving. Tanner may have been a bastard but he had still been apart of the town, apart of the school and their daily lives. "The thing is about Elena is that once she sees something being hidden – she digs as deep as she possibly can. And … I don't know if she's going to let this go, Stefan." Her voice cracked with a pinch of fear, that scared feeling of being deemed a horror flashed before her eyes. If Elena digs deeper into what happened – it could very well reveal what she's now become. The thing that she saw herself as – a monster.

Stefan brushed some of her hair away from her face, "You'll be fine no matter what happens." He told her in sincerity, "I'm not going to let anything happen to you – we're both going to be fine." The promise shone in his eyes as he looked down at her. She sent him a small watery smile before letting him bring her into his chest, hugging her tightly as if he were protecting her from the outside world.

"Everything will be fine…"

…

"… _I though there was hope left in my brother … that somewhere_ _ **deep**_ _inside, something in Damon was still_ _ **human**_ _… n0rmal…"_

At the Gilbert Residence; inside Elena's bedroom, a small draft filled the room from the open window beside the bed. Elena was in bed, all tucked away and asleep, a new bracelet hanging from her wrist that shone against the soft light of the lamp beside the bed. It was a simple chain with a wool substance wrung through it – this woven object had been soaked in vervain for several hours. On a small plaque and the front of the bracelet, it said ' _sister's forever'_. It was a gift from Olivia as a good luck charm for this year's cheerleading year.

Standing beside the bed, was Damon Salvatore. He was gazing down at his sleeping beauty, stroking his finger against her warm cheek with a spark in his eyes that no one out of that room had seen – something he won't ever let his brother see nor even Olivia for that matter. He was to remain the emotionless bastard the town has come to know – he needed to stay this way, because then, it would be easier in getting what he truly wanted out of this ghastly town. The sooner his plan worked – the sooner he could leave with the one he wanted.

" _... but I was wrong … there's_ _ **nothing**_ _human left in Damon ... no good … no kindness … no love … only a_ _ **monster**_ _who must be_ _ **stopped**_ _…"_

Elena shifted on the bed and slowly her eyes began opening – she swore there had been something rubbing against her cheek, but there was no one in the room except her. Sighing with tiredness, she reached over to the lamp and turned it off, placing aside her diary before heading back to sleep with a happy smile on her lips.

Dreaming of none other than _Damon Salvatore_.

 **Follow, Fav, and Review!**

 **The necklace in the show will appear later on in the story! The one Stefan gave to Olivia is NOT the same one as the Mikaelson's.**


	13. 4-1 To Making Plans

**I'll be mixing this episode up a little bit (scene-wise) and I hope you like it! Please leave some reviews!**

 **Vampire Diaries Fanfic | Dawn of a New Day | Family Ties – Part 1**

 _A large gasp came out of Olivia's mouth as she jerked into a sitting position and her eyes were darting everywhere to see where she was – her breathing coming out in stuttering huffs. Shakenly, she squinted her eyes, it was dark but for some reason her vision was very clear. She was in an alleyway; a dirty filthy one that would normally be found behind a restaurant. "H-How…?" Her croaky voice came out scared, she had no idea where she was. The last thing she remembered was someone coming up behind her, a sharp pain and some type of disgusting liquid being shoved down her throat._

 _Where was everyone? She had been with others on the co-op trip so where were they? Was anyone looking for her? Where was she?_

 _Olivia started to slowly get up on her quivering legs and for some reason, they felt new and unused. She had been laying on bags of garbage like someone had thrown her out like trash. Suddenly, her head snapped up and her hands covered her ears when a sharp bang sounded throughout the alleyway._

" _Shit!" A deep male's voice swore afterwards, having just come out of the back door that was slammed against the brick wall. He was a pretty stogy man with a slowly growing beard that hadn't been shaved in possibly a week. He was wearing a chef's outfit with lots of muck and old food on it, he was gripping his hand tightly where a large cut was deep within his skin. The man groaned, trying to cover the wound with a white towel without much luck. It was slowly filling up with blood._

 _Olivia was only a few meters away but her head slowly turned up, looking towards the man that had appeared in the alley while her hands retreated from her ears. She was about to ask the man where she was, hoping for some kind of answer but for some reason, no words left her mouth and her eyes only stayed trained on the bleeding hand. It was like she was in a trance, unable to break herself away from it. Something inside started to stir within her and a deep hunger was starting to rise._

" _God, damn it." The man cursed again, shaking his head. This was the third time in just a few months, if he didn't stop accidently cutting himself then he'll probably be let go for another cook. He loved this job but the stress was starting to get to him and he kept getting sidetracked by that beautiful waitress who comes into the kitchen every five damn seconds._

 _The chef was about to head inside now that his hand was covered, but that was until he heard a rustle over to the side. He looked over at the noise and his eyes widened dramatically – he saw a teenager completely covered in dirt and there were blood stains covering her entire body, especially around her neck and clothing. "My god," He started walking towards her, thinking she was badly hurt for that amount of blood to be covering her. "Jesus, who did this to you?" He was about a meter away from her, "What's your name?" He started getting out his phone, about to call 911. He had long forgotten about his bandaged hand._

 _Olivia blindingly ignored the questions, "Your bleeding." She murmured softly, still looking at the hand and the hunger deep inside was getting worse. She didn't know what was happening to her, but for some reason, she was giving into the demon she was becoming._

" _I'm calling an ambulance." He assured her, thinking she was just in shock. She definitely looked like it. "Here." He started taking off the towel around his hand, intending to put it on a wound she may have, thinking she'd need it more. "Where are you hurt?"_

 _Olivia reached forwards and grabbed the towel silently, looking down at it curiously. The man turned away for just a few seconds, speaking to someone on the phone, but while he wasn't looking, Olivia did something that would change her forever. She squeezed some of the blood in the towel and into her hand, like it was a bowl and slowly, she lifted it to her mouth, sniffing it deeply. A deep pressure started to resonate from her gums and again, without any thought, she poured the entire pool of blood into her mouth that was in her hand._

 _It tasted delicious, like gulping down an entire chocolate bar after having been deprived of it for so long. She even let out a small moan as the liquid drained down her throat._

 _The sound of a phone crashing to the ground could be heard, and that was enough for Olivia's head to snap up towards the man again. In front of her, the man stared at her with wide horrified eyes, "Oh, my god…" He breathed, slowly backing away from the girl. Little black veins gradually crawled down beneath her eyes and her eyes sparkled red against the backlight of the alleyway, her mouth was open and he could clearly see two little fangs pointing down and getting longer._

 _Time seemed to draw on but he wasn't quickly enough to get away because the next thing he knew, the girl was gone from her original spot and something appeared behind him._

 _Down that alley; only the painful scream of a full grown male could be heard and on that night, Olivia Gilbert had turned into the monster she believes to be today._

…

" _No!"_ Olivia's body jerked upwards on the bed and into a sitting position, a horrified gasp leaving her lips as she jolted out of a nightmare. Her body was full of sweat, the sheets sticking to her body and there were stray tears running down her face. She had been twisting and turning before being woken up so now the bed looked messy around her. It took her a moment to realise where she was – that she was in her room, not in that alleyway anymore.

Taking deep breaths, she tried to calm herself down by lowering her head to her knees and closing her eyes. It took a few minutes, but finally she was able to push the aftereffects of the nightmare away. Actually, it wasn't just a nightmare, it was a memory. That's exactly how she remembered the night of became a vampire and it was very often that the man she killed came back to haunt her.

It had been a week since Mr. Tanner died and again it was the weekend; but unfortunately, something else was going to be happening tomorrow night, something she wasn't exactly looking forward to but must go because she's a Gilbert.

The Founder's Party.

Olivia loved history and memorizing all sort of things from the past, but a party in a house that was technically a museum just wasn't something she particularly liked the sound of. It's also something she had to look fancy and dress up for – that wasn't too much her thing either.

Looking over to her alarm clock; the numbers 8:52am flashed against the cover. A breathy sigh left her lips, she should probably start getting ready because she also needed to hunt again. Slowly she's been trying to ween herself into relying on animal blood. She noticed that even though the human blood curved her cravings a lot better, she always felt different and she always felt the demon inside her more. With animal; it made her feel more like herself, so in the end, she's taking in mostly animal blood but human was mixed in here and there.

Stripping the covers off her body; she grabbed the necessary clothes for the day before heading into the bathroom, about to have a much needed shower.

…

Olivia could hear Jenna mumbling about something all the way down the stairs and it wasn't until she entered the living room that she realised the woman had been staring at the television screen. Her eyes were narrowed towards a certain news reporter on the screen; Logan Fell.

" _Who're you talking to?_ " Elena's voice hit her next from the kitchen, slowly walking towards the living room too.

"Him." Jenna nodded towards the screen but smiled over to Olivia when she noticed the other teenager walk into the room. She turned back, "Also known as Logan _Scum_ Fell." She glanced between the twins, "Did your mom ever tell either of you why I moved away from Mystic Falls?" Gesturing to the man on the screen to help them out.

"Oh, really?" Olivia blinked, looking towards the male she's barely seen before. All their mother had said to any of them was that a guy broke Jenna's heart and she didn't want to stay in the same town as the bastard anymore. "Him?" She walked towards the kitchen, needing to make herself a mug of coffee so her skin didn't feel as cold as it does now. Just before coming down she made sure to have some blood – it's become more of a morning ritual these days.

Elena looked between Logan and Jenna, "Oh, no way." She said with a disbelieving tone. "You and him?" She gave him a look over with observational eyes, "He's cute." She commented, tilting her head.

Olivia glanced over to take another look at the guy – he wasn't all that _cute_ to her. For one thing; he's about fifteen years plus older than her and he just didn't look like the type of guy she'd even consider dating. Besides, she had Stefan, a much better guy than that Logan _Scum_ fell could be.

"He's not cute." Jenna denied, but by her tone she wasn't really believing herself enough to portray an honest voice. She scoffed at the TV screen, "There's nothing _cute_ about him." She quickly grabbed the remote from the table and promptly shut the machine off, ridding the living room of that horrible face of her past.

As Olivia poured the hot steaming coffee into a large mug, she noticed her sister sit down at the dining room table, a small cloth in hand and a little old box in front of her. She was about to ask what Elena was doing but her Aunt beat her to it, "What are you doing with that?" The woman asked, going over to stand behind the twin, looking down at the items in front.

Elena picked up an old wrist watch, beginning to clean it, "I went yesterday and got it out of the safety deposit box." She explained. "Mom had told Mrs. Lockwood she would loan it to the Founder's Council for their Heritage Display."

At this point; Olivia had made her way over while taking a sip of coffee, now looking down with her Aunt towards all the history of the Gilbert Family. Jenna picked up a ring from inside the box, "Is that Grandma Beth's wedding ring?" She looked intriguingly at the object while thinking back to the past.

"H-hm." Elena nodded, looking up, "Originally it was great great Grandma Mary's wedding ring." She boasted on how much she knew about the family history.

As she spoke, Jeremy entered the room looking all ready for the day. He didn't actually have to go to the Founder's party tomorrow night, he had the choice, the girls however, didn't. Olivia looked up, smiling a little at the entrance of her little brother, "Morning, Jer." He smiled back at her with a small nod but didn't say anything, instead, he walked over to them and reached into the box to grab something in particular.

He picked up a pocket watch with strange symbols on it, "How much do you think this stuff is worth?" He wondered out loud, "You know, like on eBay?" Just before he finished his sentence, Elena reached over and immediately yanked the item out of his hand.

Olivia took another sip from her coffee, heading back over to the kitchen – she knew Jeremy wouldn't do such a thing and sell items that were precious to their parents. Honestly, she was also a little curious too as to how much the items were actually worth. She'd never even think of selling them herself either – there was too much history in them.

"You're not going to find out." Elena said sternly, not letting anything happen to the items in front of her. She was going to make sure her mother's wish came true and that _all_ of these items would stay on loan to the Founder's Council.

Jeremy let out a huff of annoyance, getting irritated, "That stuff is mom and dads." He started, heading towards the kitchen as well. He had been on his way to get some breakfast until he noticed that pocket watch. He remembered it completely – it's the watch his father was going to give him when he was 'ready' - whatever that meant. "You can't just give it away." Maybe he could sneakily get that pocket watch before Elena gives it over later on today?

Olivia sighed, glancing over at him, "She's not giving it away, Jer." She told him, knowing how the process works. "They're just being loaned out." After drinking the last of her coffee, she placed the mug in the sink and sighed. "All right, I'm heading out." She announced, heading towards the front door where her shoulder bag was all ready to go. There wasn't much blood left in her mini-fridge so it was time to refill again despite trying to cut down a bit, especially when it came to the human blood. She had a couple of plastic bottles to fill with animal blood but she needed to get a few blood bags out of the hospital as well.

The other three watched as she left the house; all thinking different things. Elena was still pondering back to the other night at the game when she thought a cut had actually been on her twin's hand. Jenna was looking pleased that the niece she knew was slowly coming back and out of her shell and as for Jeremy, he's still noticing differences in his favorite sister but could see that she was indeed getting better after whatever happened in Chicago.

…

After dropping the newly filled bottles and blood bags into her mini fridge, she decided to head over to the Forbes residence. Actually, Caroline was forcing her to come over in a manner of a crisis of finding something to wear for the Founder's Party tomorrow night. She still hasn't gotten up the courage of asking Stefan to be her date yet, she _was_ going to do it yesterday but it completely slipped her mind. Maybe she should head over to the Boarding House later on and finally ask him?

As soon as she arrived on Caroline's doorstep, a horrible thought suddenly came to her. She hasn't been invited in – not since becoming a vampire. Caroline had been over to her house a couple of times since school started and they've been out in public together – but not in the Forbes house. She prayed that Caroline would invite her in the way that needed to be done – this was a pondered thought as she knocked on the door a couple of times, _extra_ loud. Sometimes Caroline would have her music riled up, especially while her mom was at work.

Olivia could hear quickened footsteps coming up to the door from the inside and just then, the door swung open, presenting Caroline dressed in a horribly bright pink dress with a black feathered bow tie around her waist.

"Liv, you're here!" Caroline exclaimed, her eyes widening in happiness but also relief.

Olivia couldn't help but chuckle at the reaction, "Of course I'm here Care." Waiting for that little invite to let her in.

And it happened. "Come in, come in, come in," Caroline said in a mantra but with a rush of excitement, reaching forwards to grab her best friend by the arm before literally dragging her into the house. Olivia made a noise of surprise as she got pulled in but was also thankful that the blonde had actually given her an invite. Her body slamming into something invisible wouldn't have been the best conversation of the day – and there would have been no excuses around it without telling the truth. She wouldn't even know what to say actually.

…

About an hour later; Olivia was lying back on Caroline's bed flipping through a book she's actually read before. But now, thinking about it, the whole concept of the read was pretty amusing. _Twilight_. She shook her head, the way Stephanie Meyer portrayed vampires was completely different to what they are in real life. Look at her, Stefan, Damon, and Lexi - they're living proof of what a real vampires look like.

"What about this one?" Caroline questioned, twirling around in a daffodil coloured frilly dress with a fluffy black belt around the waist. She looked over to her best friend, wanting an honest opinion. She missed this – doing little things like this because they became non-existent after Olivia came back from Chicago and it became more so after her parents died. She understood of course, but she was glad things were finally getting back to the way they were.

Olivia looked up and immediately bit her lip at the sight, she did hate saying bad comments about certain things that Caroline wore – but a few pieces of clothing in that closet of hers should just _stay_ in the closet. "Honestly?" She began with a frown of apology, "It looks like the kind of dress a mother would make her five-year-old daughter wear to her grandmother's birthday party." Ignoring the actual size of the dress, knowing it would be too big for an actual five-year-old, but still, that's what she pictured exactly in her mind.

Caroline let out a groan, throwing her head back in exasperation, she had really liked this dress too but she wanted to look great for this Founder's Party. "Alright." She muttered to herself, going back to the closet, finding a new dress. She looked over her shoulder while rummaging through the clothes, "So, have you asked Stefan yet to be your date?"

Olivia's lip quirked, she had wondered when that question would come up, "Not yet." She replied back, looking up from the book again.

"Liv…" Caroline drawled out, probably rolling her eyes with a small sigh, "Don't forget it's tomorrow night." She lightly scolded, "He needs to make sure he can get a tux in time."

' _He probably has dozens.'_ Olivia thought but spoke back anyway in response, "I'll ask him later on."

"Nu-huh." The blonde shook her head, coming out of the closet with a blue dress in hand – one that looked much better for both the occasion and just all in general. She pointed a finger towards her best friend, "You're calling him now, missy."

Olivia furrowed a brow, putting aside the book, "Huh?"

"Call him now." Caroline pushed, not letting her get out of it. She put aside the blue dress to place her hands on her hips, her foot tapping against the ground with impatience. "Or _I'll_ call him for you." Putting a little smirk on her lips this time and Olivia knew right then she _really_ didn't want that to happen. God knows what will come out of Caroline's mouth if she asks Stefan for her.

A giving in sigh came out Olivia's mouth as she reached over to her bag in front of her, retrieving her phone. "Fine." Knowing it was no or never.

…

At the Salvatore Boarding House; Zach was walking through the downstairs hallway, about to get himself a drink when he noticed someone he really didn't like laying across one of the couches, flipping through Stefan's notebooks aimlessly. His feet stopped at the entrance of the living room, staring over at Damon and he already knew the vampire would have sensed him approaching long before he even stopped.

"I didn't know you were here." Zach stated honestly, it was actually rare he'd come face-to-face with his more dangerous ancestor because the guy was either out killing or wreaking havoc on Stefan's life away from the Boarding House.

Damon didn't look up from the books, still flipping through the pages, "Just going through Stefan's homework." Pretending to care, but mostly, he was just bored. After going through nearly half of the book, he snorted in an unbelievable manner, "Boy," He shook his head, "This country sure has dumbed down in the last hundred years. Why Stefan wants to go to High School is beyond me. I mean, in the seventies, he went Ivy League." This time, he actually glanced over to the human, "Now Harvard, I _did_ understand." He paused, narrowing his eyes in thought, "Actually … no, I really didn't."

Zach glanced over to the stairs, silently wondering if Stefan was inside the house still. He knew that if Damon was to try something – Stefan would put a stop to it the best he could. He had trust in Stefan but it only went so far since he's a creature that's literally ruined his life.

"Go ahead…" Damon rolled his eyes, knowing there was something on the guy's brain for him to be standing there like a lemon. "Purge." He prompted. "Get it out … what's on your mind?"

Zach swallowed down his nerves, not wanting to show fear – but even he knew Damon could snap his neck within a millisecond and Stefan wouldn't be able to do a thing about it. "Why are you here, Damon?" He finally questioned but the odds of him actually getting a truthful answer were practically zero. He knew Stefan would have already asked that very same question already and he was nothing but another human to Damon.

Damon looked up from the book, plastering a mocking smile on his face before shutting that very same book. "To spend time with you, Zach." He replied, that smile leaning towards a smirk more than anything. "Family's important."

Zach looked to him fearlessly, "I know you." He stated, observing the vampire closely as the guy leaned further back into the chair – intently listening to whatever came out of his mouth, "You always have a motive. So tell me, what is it this time?"

There was a moment of silence, but it didn't last for long.

Zach suddenly found himself hanging in the air, a hand wrapped around his throat with Damon's finger's digging into the curve of his neck. His oxygen was slowly being severed. Zach groaned, little gasps coming out of his mouth as he tried desperately to get some air.

Damon looked at the man with cold and calculating eyes, "You are in no position to question me." He said with a deadly tone, one you really didn't want to mess with.

"I-I didn't mean to upset you." Zach choked back, hoping Stefan would be down any second if he were here.

A smirk lifted on Damon's lips, his head tilting with a patronizing look, "This is _not_ upset, Zach."

"What's going on?" Stefan's voice filled the room as he stood at another entrance to the living room – he was looking towards Damon's back with narrowed eyes, seeing Zach being choked in front of him. He slowly walked further in and that's when Damon finally let the human descendant go. Zach dropped to the floor with a thud, coughing and gasping for air.

Damon turned around to his little brother after rolling his eyes at the intrusion, "Having a family moment, Stefan." He pretended nothing was wrong with what he did. "Spending some quality time." He chuckled, shaking his head before heading out of the room, patting Zach on the back before leaving out of sight.

When Damon was gone, Stefan rushed to Zach's side, "Are you okay?" He asked with concern in his eyes. He was about to help the guy up to his feet but his hand was pushed away, the man not needing any help from him. They vaguely heard Damon walking out of the house, no doubt out to get something to eat – and but something, that meant human.

"No." Zach snapped, finally gaining his breath back. He looked up at the vampire, using a more calmed tone this time, "No, I'm not and neither are _you_. And neither is _Olivia_." Knowing the Gilbert girl had a lot more to do with this situation now that she's the same species as his ancestors. From what he could tell after seeing her a few times after giving her the invitation to his house, she was near enough the same girl he remembered briefly knowing. Also, she hasn't hurt anyone in town so it gave him a great sense of comfort. He looked up at Stefan, "How many more people have to die before you see that?!"

"I see it." Stefan told him, knowing exactly what was happening around him now that Damon had followed him to Mystic Falls. "All right, Zach, I see it."

Zach gritted his teeth, not understanding something, "Then why aren't you doing anything about it?!"

"I _can't_ , Zach." Stefan stressed, glancing up to the entrance of the living room, keeping his voice down. He shook his head, looking back to his descendant, "I can't because it would take human blood. It's the only way I could stop him, and I can't do that."

"Then what about Olivia?" Zach fired back, slowly getting up from the ground, also keeping his voice down. "She drinks blood bags, doesn't she?"

"No," The vampire immediately denied, shaking his head, "I don't want her in danger and she's only been a vampire for just over half a year."

"But she'll be in even more danger if Damon isn't gone and what about everyone else around her?" The man wasn't giving up, "At least just _ask_ her for help - give her a choice."

And suddenly, the sound of a cell phone ringing cut through the air. Stefan's head jerked down towards his pants pocket and his hand pulled out the sounding object, looking at the screen as the name of his girlfriend popped up. Zach was able to catch the name and he looked to Stefan with a pleading look, "Ask her, please." He said, "Bring her over so I can show you both something – it'll help bring Damon down."

Stefan was immediately curious as to what that something might be but his thoughts were cut short by his own thumb pressing the answer button on his phone, and he brought the object up to his ear. "Hey," He said into the receiver, automatically smiling, knowing he was talking to Olivia.

" _Hey, back."_ Olivia's voice came through loud and clear, you could tell there was a smile in her voice too. _"Are you busy?"_ She asked hesitantly, _"Cause I need to ask you something in person and it's … important."_

Stefan glanced up to Zach and he was being sent a look, "I'm free." He replied back, nodding to himself at the decision he was about to make, "I actually need to ask you something as well – are you able to come over right now?"

" _Oh,"_ Olivia made a noise of surprise but readily agreed, " _Uh, sure!"_ Probably nodding on the other end. _"I'll be there in about ten minutes – I'm at Caroline's."_

"That's great," Stefan now wondered what she might need to ask him, "I'll see you soon." He could hear Caroline on the other end squealing for some reason.

Olivia made a shushing sound to whom he guessed was to quieten Caroline's squeal. She was probably covering the phone, but his hearing was too good for that. _"You too."_ She said before making her goodbyes, hanging up the phone just before he did.

Stefan brought the phone down from his ear before sliding it back into his pocket – he also noticed Zach looking to him expectantly. "Well?"

"She'll be over within ten minutes."

…

Olivia finished speeding through the forest and stopped at the tree line – adjusting the bag strap across her chest, she started making her way towards the front door of the Boarding House. It was pretty easy and quick to get from Caroline's to Stefan's just because each house was next to the forest, even her own house had a frontal view of the mass of trees. She wondered again what Stefan might need to ask her, but she did hope that Damon wasn't in the building as she approached the front door.

She could hear at least two pairs of footsteps inside when she started knocking on the door, and as expected, it only took a matter of seconds for the door to swing open and Stefan was on the other side.

Stefan smiled when he saw her standing there, "Hi." He moved aside, letting her in.

Olivia accepted the invitation, walking in, "Hey," She gave a small wave with a smile back. Suddenly, it was then that she noticed Zach standing in the hallway, looking towards her in particular with a look on his face she couldn't quite describe. She gave a small wave to the guy, "Hey, Zach." Being polite.

Zach gave a nod, "Olivia." But he didn't move from his spot.

As Stefan closed the door behind her and she turned towards him with a confused look, "So … are we going up to your room?" She wondered why he was just standing there, normally he'd be walking her somewhere, mostly upstairs.

"Uh," Stefan glanced over to Zach, "Actually it was Zach as well that wanted to talk to you."

Olivia blinked with surprise, but mostly bewilderment, "Oh!" She said, glancing between the two, "Um, why's that?" Suddenly feeling a little nervous.

"We were making plans to bring down Damon once and for all." Zach spoke, finally walking towards them. It was as he approached the two that he revealed some of why she was here, "You drink from blood bags don't you?" He got right to the point.

Olivia's eyes flickered over to Stefan but could slowly understand why Zach _might_ be asking, she already knew that Stefan was completely dependent on animal blood. "I still drink from blood bags but not as much as I first started." It was probably about half and half these days between human and animal. There was a pause, "What was it you wanted me to do?" Knowing she wouldn't have been asked such a question without something needed doing.

Stefan reached forward to grab Olivia's hand, making her look to him, " _If_ your up for it – I'm gonna work on bringing Damon's guard down but someone needs to bring _him_ down." He looked down a little in shame, knowing that if only he could drink human blood and stay the way he is then he wouldn't have to ask this of her. "Somehow we need to get vervain into his system so we can dry him out completely – once that's done, I'll be putting him in the Salvatore Family Crypt for the rest of his undead life ... or at least for a couple of centuries minimum."

Olivia thought about it for a second but it was already a no-brainer – she knew exactly what her decision was going to be. "I'll do it." She agreed, wanting to take Damon down. He may not have bitten Caroline or caused some serious harm to the people closest to her, but many people were still _dead_ and he HAD been compelling those around her. That's something she didn't like at all and she knew he needed to be stopped.

Suddenly, something from his words came back to her, "Wait, vervain?" Her eyebrows creased, looking towards Stefan with confusion, "I thought you gave me the last for Elena and Jeremy?" Did he find some more?

"Come with me." Zach spoke for Stefan before gesturing them both to follow him, starting to walk down the hallway. He was glad she was agreeing to help, especially when she might be doing the most work out of this plan. He also knew that Stefan wouldn't be very happy with him anymore, especially after not wanting to involve Olivia at all.

He walked them to a hidden door built into the wall and took them down the old stairway, taking them down to the basement. Stefan hadn't been down here yet either because all Zach had said was wait until Olivia arrived, he wanted to show them both at the same time. They passed through several doors and a few of them were made with a very thick steel-like material. And finally, they approached a room that looked to be an old cell. And inside, their noses twitched at a strong potent smell coming out.

 _Vervain_.

"You've been growing it." Stefan commented, looking at the poisonous plants with caution, not getting too near to the plant but also making sure Olivia didn't either.

Zach didn't deny it, "It's just something that's been passed down through the generations." He explained why he had them in the first place. The two vampires turned towards him, "Blood only runs so deep when you're related to vampires and Damon would kill me if he knew that I had it."

Olivia was confused, "But, if you hate vampires so much then why are you telling _us_?" And by the look on her boyfriend's face, he was thinking the exact same thing.

It took a moment to reply but finally Zach spoke with honesty, "Because I trust you – the both of you." It was a long stretch to trust Olivia but his gut was just telling him to. He gestured over to the vervain, "And your going to need the vervain if you want to get rid of him."

…

"You don't have to do this, Liv." Stefan said once again, brushing his fingers through her hair while her head laid on his lap. He had a deep worry inside of him that Damon would hurt her and he didn't want that to happen – he knew how strong his brother was on human blood and he also knew that Olivia wasn't drinking full-on blood bags anymore. She still has a lot of the stuff, but not as much as she used to.

Olivia sighed and opened her eyes, pushing herself up before turning to him on the bed, her legs folded underneath her. "Stefan." She started, trying to look reassuring. "I can do this – I _want_ to do this and it's because if I don't, more people will die and I don't want that to happen."

There was a moment before Stefan exhaled, slowly nodding with acceptance, "Okay." He said quietly, getting that he won't be able to change her mind. And suddenly, something popped into his head, the reason why she had called earlier. "What was it you wanted to ask me?" He asked, intrigued, looking for some lighter news.

"Oh, right." Olivia remembered, she really kept forgetting about it a lot. "Well, how do you look in a suit?" Looking him up and down curiously, trying to imagine him in one just like she had done with the jersey last week.

A small chuckle left his lips, "I can pull one off and I have a couple stored in my closet somewhere." He had an inkling as to what it might be for but he just needed the confirmation.

Olivia smiled, looking a little more relaxed about asking the question she's been forgetting for days. "Would you be interested in being my date for the Founder's Party tomorrow?"

Stefan reached forwards for her hands, looking into her eyes, "I would be honored to accompany you, _Miss. Gilbert_."

That sounded so formal and outdated, but Olivia loved it. A flutter appeared again in her undead heart, "The pleasure is all mine, _Mr. Salvatore_."

 **Follow, Fav, and Review!**


	14. 4-2 The First Try

**Olivia's clothing for the Founder's Party can be found on my Polyvore account!**

' **Olivia Gilbert – Founders Party'**

 **Vampire Diaries Fanfic | Dawn of a New Day | Family Ties – Part 2**

The next day came around pretty fast because as soon as she knew it, Olivia heard a ringing come from the front doorbell at 10 o'clock in the morning. She was sitting at the dining room table, examining the row of nail polishes Elena had given to her in choosing for the Founders Party tonight. Usually, she would be getting ready with Caroline for this party but Elena wanted her to stay home and get ready this time, wanting to have a twin-bonding session, something they haven't really had lately.

Olivia did find it strange because she could see that Elena wanted to tell her something, but it just wasn't being said. She'd have to fish it out of her later when they actually start getting ready for this party.

And it wasn't just Elena she was thinking about too when she looked at the row of nail polishes in front of her – she was also thinking about what she's gonna have to do today. It will no doubt be an eventful party to remember, especially with the plan that was going to be executed when it came to Damon. A part of her didn't like it, and god was she nervous about it too.

She just hoped everything would turn out smoothly and that no one at the party would suspect anything suspicious.

The footsteps of her brother pounding down the stairs caught her out of the gaze because her head lifted. She completely forgot about the fact that someone had been at the door, she had been so in tuned with her thoughts. The figure of her brother walked to the door and opened it, but as soon as he did, his shoulders became tense and static.

As Jeremy had opened the door; the person standing on the other side made his eyes roll with annoyance and he was about to promptly shut the door, but was stopped by the person who placed a hard hand on the door to stop it from shutting.

Tyler Lockwood.

Tyler obviously didn't like this any more than he did, especially after the scene that went down at the game the other day, the one that hadn't been played before Mr Tanner's death.

"I'm here for my mom," Tyler said, retracting his hand from the door, knowing the younger male wouldn't try slamming it in his face again. "I'm here to pick up a box of stuff-" He was interrupted by Olivia.

"-It's right here." She finally got up from the table, remembering that Tyler was supposed to be coming over this morning to pick up the antique Gilbert box. Elena was originally going to be the one to hand it over, being the person who actually cleaned every piece and checked everything to make sure it was okay, but she was currently out getting a dress with Bonnie's help. She'd been back in a couple of hours at the most.

Olivia walked over to the door, the small old box balanced in her hands, careful not to drop a most prized possession of the Gilbert family. And it wasn't just the box, there were a lot of memories inside that were gems to the generations of Gilberts. Jeremey moved aside for a second, opening the door wider so his sister could face Tyler _the idiot_ Lockwood.

Stepping in front of Tyler, she held it out in front of her, " _Please_ ," Olivia empathised on the word before continuing, "Be careful with it and I'm not kidding either."

Jeremy couldn't help but butt in with an arrogant tone, still pissed about a lot of things, "Yeah, be careful with it, dick."

"Jeremy!" Olivia narrowed her eyes to her brother, giving him a look that said 'shut up'. She knew Tyler deserved it, but it wasn't called for and especially not after what happened at the game – she was still a bit antsy from what happened that day. A few times her nightmares have actually risen from that night – most of the scenarios were based on what would have happened if someone in the crowd knew about vampires and staked her right then and there. She usually woke up shaking on those days.

Tyler stayed silent which was appreciated by the Gilbert sister.

"Not right now, okay." Olivia glanced between the two, not wanting them to fight anymore. She didn't want to have to break them up again.

But this time, Tyler wasn't silent but did act coolly with both his words and attitude. "I'm fine, he's just being a punk."

Jeremy scoffed, ignoring his sister disapproval, "I got you, _punk_."

Olivia let out an inward groan before looking towards Tyler full on, "Maybe you should go, just tell your mom that Elena and I will see her at the party tonight." Before turning around to leave the boys to say their goodbyes, she did give her brother another look.

It was one that he _sort of_ followed when she left.

…

"Do they still wear ties at this thing?" Damon questioned with a frown on his face the moment he entered his little brothers' bedroom that morning, wearing nothing but nice black pants and dress shoes. He was walking towards the tall standing mirror attached to the door of the closet, looking at himself in the mirror while trying to choose an adequate tie to wear.

Stefan just walked over to one of the chairs sitting beside a table that had a chess board laying across it. He sat himself down in it, a half-filled glass of strong alcohol swishing around inside. He was currently wearing the pants he was to wear to the Founders party tonight, including a white undershirt that clearly outlined his well-defined muscles.

Putting the glass down, he reached forwards to the floor in order to put on his nice dress shoes and that's when he answered his brother's question, "Why are you even going?" He questioned. He wasn't happy about it because people could get hurt, but he knew there was an ulterior motive behind _all_ of Damon's decisions – he just couldn't seem to fathom out the true reason why his brother would be going to something like this.

"It's only fitting," Damon replied, now rummaging through Stefan's closet this time. He was looking for a different coloured tie, his were a bit outdated because he never really went to formal dues like this, or at least, it's been a while since he's actually been to one. "We were at the very first one, remember?"

Stefan was still narrowing his eyes suspiciously, "I still think it's better that we don't draw attention to ourselves."

Damon smirked, looking into the mirror so his eyes met Stefan's from behind, "Then maybe you and your girlfriend should stay here, at least then you'd have the place to yourselves." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "And then, I'll see to it that Elena has a good time." He already knew that Elena was going with another boy in her year to this party, it made his veins fire up at even the thought of it. He was to be taking Caroline, though, under compulsion of course, while occasionally glancing wistfully over to Elena.

Stefan didn't say anything, just simply held the shoe originally retrieved from the floor in one hand while the other reached over to the glass of liquor he placed down a moment ago. Damon noticed this amber liquid in his brothers' drink, and his eyebrows raised, "My goodness," He started, shaking his head to himself as he watched Stefan chuck down a huge gulp. "I've driven you to drink." Ideas started coming to his mind at this – he knew Stefan never drunk, not unless there was a reason behind it.

Even with him and his ways around the place, his brother was still the goody-two-shoes.

Stefan scoffed, placing the glass back on the table before beginning to put on his shoes again. "Well, I can't seem to rid myself of you, so what else am I supposed to do besides going about living my life?"

" _Go about living my life."_ Damon imitated with mockery. He tutted his brother, shaking his head, "See, therein lies your eternal struggle." He turned around, looking at Stefan straight on this time. "Your _dead_ , dude." He said with bluntness. "Get over it."

Stefan just stared at him.

Damon lifted a tie he picked out, liking the look and colour of it. "What do you think?" It was a nice shade of grey with waves riding down it, it's not too colourful and not too dark at the same time. Although he did love his dark colours – it goes with his _dazzling_ personality.

…

"So, did you choose which colour you wanted on your nails?" Elena asked her sister after walking into said sister's bedroom. It was time to start getting ready for the Founders party, one that they needed to attend in less than six hours. Both of them had already had a shower this morning so their hair and bodies were completely fresh and ready to be styled.

Olivia was sat on her bed, holding up a small bottle of nail polish that was a bit darker than the colour of the dress she was to be wearing tonight. It was a dark purple that had a small shine to it. "This one, uhh…" Looking at the name on the bottle, "Naughty vixen." She read, then cringed at the name, noting that the name didn't really suit her personality, to be honest.

Elena reached over and grabbed it, also now sitting on the bed. "Ooh, nice one." She nodded with approval, a small smile on her lips. Laying down several pieces of tissue, she got ready to start doing her sisters nails. Hers were already done for the party, they were painted a light rose colour that was just a bit lighter than a pink marshmallow. Bonnie and she had done each others yesterday while Olivia was out with Stefan, again.

Olivia let her sister reach forwards a grab the first hand, carefully watching as her nails were painted cleanly and practically professionally. She thought the atmosphere was going to continue being silent between them, at least, that was until Elena started talking again, a different tone to her voice – a cautious one.

"So, you seem really happy lately … with Stefan."

Olivia looked up to her sister, a frown forming on her lips at the tone that was hidden within the words. They sounded happy, but there was something else hidden there like something was possibly known. "I am." She replied anyway, a smile instantly forming on her lips at the thought of her boyfriend. But then her smile lessened just a little, "Why?" She suddenly asked, wanting to know what was being hidden. She sensed it this morning as well before her twin went out with Bonnie dress shopping. "Lena, what are you hiding from me?" She was now the cautious one.

Elena held her tongue for a moment in silence, but then her shoulders sunk, her head lifting up while her hands paused in the nail paint. "Liv, how well do you really know Stefan?" She questioned, worry in her tone. She noted her sister sending her a confused look, so she continued, "I mean, you've been spending A LOT of time with him, and that's great and I'm happy for you – but how well do you really _know_ him?"

Olivia couldn't help it, she started to get just a little defensive, "He's a great guy, he treats me right and he helps me when I need it." She spoke truthfully. She didn't exactly expand on how he's helped her since they met – she couldn't exactly tell her sister ' _he prevented me from killing the entire population of teens of Mystic Falls and helped be control the bloodlust from the demon within me'_ could she?

"But, what about his past?" Elena countered, sitting up straight with her eyes looking dead into her twins'. "Stuff that he's done before he moved here, his past relationships…" Her voice drifted off.

Olivia didn't have to think about it because she already didn't know much about either of those subjects. But even then, why was Elena even asking about these things? "He'll tell me when he tells me." Basically answering a 'No.' It's not that she hasn't wanted to know, it's just one of those things that she didn't think she had the right to pry into, especially to a vampire who's been one since 1864. But, she had told him about everything she partially remembered about _her_ turning into a vampire, so, didn't that warrant information about his life being spoken too?

"Do you know what happened with his ex, Lyla?" Elena finally asked something that's been swimming around in her head since yesterday. The information about Stefan that was lifted yesterday from a particular source at the Grill she had an attraction to.

Olivia suddenly looked at her sister suspiciously, her eyes narrowing, "No." She said slowly and judging by the look Elena's eyes, she did. "Do you?" If she did, how the hell did she know?

Elena shifted nervously on the bed in front, probably debating on whether to tell or not, "Well…" She started, but then finally decided to continue, "Apparently Lyla wanted to leave Stefan because something happened between them, but for some reason, Stefan wouldn't let go and things got pretty ugly. And by ugly, I mean violent. She and her family had to move away for their own safety." You could see there was true concern in her eyes.

That couldn't be true, not by one bit because that simply didn't sound like the Stefan she knew. Olivia thought about it. She knew there was very little information gathered about Lyla and by little, that means a name and the fact that she and Stefan had been extremely close. That was pretty much it.

"How do you even know this?" Stefan couldn't have been the one to tell her sister and if it was, well, she'd been more than extremely hurt for one thing.

"I bumped into Damon at the Grill yesterday and we talked for a couple of minutes. He was just showing his concern for your safety." Her eyes sparkled at her own mention of Damon, remembering back to their close encounter yesterday before she had to leave.

 _Concerned for my safety._ Olivia scoffed inside. _That's a load of rubbish._

"From Damon? Okay, well that's just a terrible point of view from one person who _isn't_ Stefan." Olivia simply told her sister, pushing out the fact that a least a bit of what was said could have been true. She knew there were dark things in Stefan's past but again, she really didn't know much about that past come to think of it … what did she really know other than the fact that he got turned into a vampire much like herself?

Elena put her hands up defensively, "Liv, I'm just simply telling you because I'm worried." She's seen a clear difference between her sister over the time since Stefan's arrived in town and right now, she couldn't really see anymore if that was a good or bad thing. Especially after what happened at the game the other night – she still didn't know what to think of it, and even now she occasionally glanced at the hand she thought had been cut.

She also couldn't help but see a lot of secrets within her sister lately, especially since coming back from Chicago. It did hurt that Olivia didn't feel the need to share what it was with her and before Chicago, they did share most things with each other. They were twins for peaks sake! And now, there was practically no interaction when I come to that.

"I just … I don't want you hurt." Elena's concerned rolled off her in waves, "And I don't want you to find out when it's too late that Stefan's a calculating manipulative liar."

At that, Olivia gave into her sister's concern, obviously seeing the sincerity in both her sister tone and facial expressions. "I know." She nodded, "But Lena, you know me – I wouldn't be in a relationship unless it was serious and that I trust him." But her sister's last words did get to her just a little, not that she's going to show it.

There was very little she actually knew about Stefan so really, how did she _really_ know who he was?

…

"It's cool not growing old," Damon commented, admiring his look in the mirror. His head was tilted, a nod of his own head approving of his attire. "I like being the eternal stud."

"Ah, yes," Stefan started with a sarcastic twinge to his voice, "Being a 150-year-old teenager has been the height of my happiness." He stood up from the chair, raising the glass that was nearly drained to the bottom.

Damon cocked an eyebrow, letting out a small amused chuckle as he turned to his brother from the mirror, his jacket being put on at the same time. "You cracked a funny, Stefan." He said. Stefan sent him an even more sarcastic smile as the last of the amber liquid was drained down his throat. Damon smirked, "We should have a drink to celebrate." He announced, finishing adjusting the collar of his blouse so it overlapped the neck of the jacket he wore.

Walking over to the large glass bottle that had the liquor stored inside, he grabbed a glass before pouring a good quantity in it for himself. It was the same as the one Stefan had been drinking from. Before he picked up his glass, his eyes caught a certain picture lying on the table – one that was taken back when they were humans. It was a picture of Lyla Pierce. The girl who was an exact image of Olivia Gilbert – or really, it should be the other way around given the different times they were born.

The picture was in black and white but just like Katherine Pierce, the twin sister of Lyla, they both looked radiant and polished. Their hair and bodies were perfection and while Stefan had a photograph of Lyla, Damon had one of Katherine stored underneath his bed in a special nook. One that Stefan would never find. He wasn't lying to Olivia when he said that she was better for his brother than Lyla was – Lyla was different because she was more like him in a certain darker sense.

"1864." He murmured, "You and Lyla had been the perfect couple – just as Katherine and I had been."

"My happiness was short-lived, as you already know." Stefan's back was facing his brother but had clearly heard the liquid being poured into a glass. It took him a while to realise it after he was turned into a vampire, as well as having his emotions flood back when he met Lexi, that he never actually _truly_ loved Lyla. Damon may have completely loved Katherine and her ways, but Stefan certainly didn't feel that way towards Lyla. At least the uncompelled side of him didn't. The two girls were very much alike and the person he loved, truly, was Olivia.

Olivia's completely different from Lyla and in so many ways. Even though he hadn't known her during her human years, he's known her as a vampire and that's exactly what Lyla had been also when they first met. Olivia was a considerate and compassionate person, she didn't let the demon get past a certain barrier without a really tough fight and so far, she's far exceeding what he really loved for in a person (romantically). After Lyla, he's never actually been in another relationship because there were too many struggles with his own bloodlust.

But with her here, it's actually been getting easier. It's like they were a match and the other helps the other.

Damon nodded, "I remember." Those days back then were always very clear to him. Stefan turned around to him as he lifted the glass from the table, preparing to take a swig.

Stefan watched carefully as his brother began lifting the glass to his lips, his own eyes following the motion with attentiveness. There was a plan in action and he thought it was working, until something happened that made it smash. The glass never touched Damon's lips but instead, the content of the amber liquid was poured out and splashed onto the ground.

The sound of a glass crashing to the floor sounded.

Damon looked towards his brother, his eyes narrowed with accusation. He had already smelled the vervain while pouring it – it was then that he realised what his brother was trying to accomplish. Didn't he know that drinking human blood also gave him better smelling senses?

"I admire your effort, Stefan." Damon looked a little peeved, more than usual, but spoke clearly, "Pouring yourself a drink then spiking that very same bottle with vervain." Stefan looked away, that had clearly been the plan from what Damon could see, "I'm not some drunk sorority chick and you can't roofie me." With a heavy sigh, he began straightening his outfit out, "But I can't help but feel a little used – I thought we were having a moment. And now, I'm gonna have to go to the party angry so who knows _what_ I'll do."

Damon didn't know it but that wasn't exactly the plan – there was a deeper one that even _he_ didn't think his brother would think of.

 **Follow, Fav, and Review!**


	15. 4-3 The Founders Party

**Founders Party Clothing for Olivia is on my Polyvore Account! 'Olivia Gilbert – Founders Party'**

 **Vampire Diaries Fanfic | Dawn of a New Day | Family Ties – Part 3**

Olivia and Stefan stepped up to the front doors of the Lockwood Mansion, their arms conjoined while a line of people stood behind them waiting to get in. The Founders Party was in full swing by the time they got there and people were gathered all around the property chatting and drinking _mostly_ alcohol.

Olivia was wearing a knee-length purple grape dress with thin straps attached to her shoulders, she wore a pair of black heels that were already killing her feet, the necklace Stefan gave her was still hanging from her neck and around her wrist was a simple silver beaded bracelet. Elena had styled her hair into a half-up/half-down style but the difference was that a braid sectioned the parts off very nicely.

Stefan had his dress pants and shoes on while including a dark purple shirt and a nice jacket that complimented his girlfriend's attire for the evening. He had made sure to have asked what colour her dress was going to be for tonight, so they'd match of course.

Olivia held herself closer to Stefan's arm as they stopped by the front door, feeling that familiar pressure of a non-invited entrance pushing them back. And judging by the look on Stefan's face, he felt it too. Luckily, Olivia noticed Mayor Lockwood, the man of the house, starting to walk past them.

"Hi, Mayor Lockwood!" She called out to him on instinct, hoping it was at least subtle. The man turned to her and immediately smiled upon seeing her there, she sent one back in return with a small wave of greeting. All the while begging inside her head ' _Please invite us in'_ she prayed. Olivia hadn't been over to the Lockwood's place of residence for a while now, months before she was turned into a vampire. And of course, Stefan was pretty much new to town so he hadn't been invited in before.

"Olivia, it's great to see you." He replied back, nodding to her and just as she silently hoped, he gestured his arm in with the words both she and Stefan needed to hear. "Come on in and have fun." After inviting the pair in, he walked away with a glass of clear liquor swishing around in his glass.

The barrier lifted instantly and as it did, both Stefan and Olivia freely took a step in. Olivia let out a relieved breath, she really hadn't thought to what might have happened if neither of the Lockwood's actually invited them in. Looking around, the place was obviously full of people and it was a little concerning for Olivia but she pushed down her usual fears in order to get through the night. Before leaving home she did have some blood, hoping that it would be enough to last her the night. Especially when it came to Damon.

The plan was simple – get Damon alone and away from people so she could take him down and well, snap his neck. That's something she's never had to do before so she really was going to have to rely on the demon within her for help. The normal Olivia would have had trouble wanting to actually hurt someone – but she had a job to do, and that was protecting the people she cared for and the people of Mystic Falls from Damon.

Stefan had already told her what had happened at the Boarding House hours before, and she was glad that it had worked. Now, hopefully, the rest of the night would go as smoothly as it did on making the plan.

…

Olivia was looking down at the Gilbert family treasures when she felt a hand touch the sole of her back. She looked over her shoulder and noticed Stefan standing there with a smile pointing towards her. His hand moved down to her own, now conjoining the two as they looked down together. Olivia had been staring at two particular objects on the table; her mother and father's wedding rings. They brought back so many memories for her, and it made her long for the days when they were still alive.

"Your parents?" Stefan guessed lightly, holding her close.

"Yeah," She nodded sadly, wearing a small frown as the last memory of her parents flashed before her eyes. "There's a lot of history here." Glancing around to all the other jewels that have been passed down through the family tree. And it wasn't just jewelry either, a lot of keepsakes that make the Gilberts who they are were also there.

…

Elena was also looking through the different family keepsakes of Mystic Falls and after going through the Forbes, Gilbert, and Lockwood treasures, she was now looking at the Salvatore monuments. More particularly towards the framed items on the wall that held original photos and lists – one list in particular caught her attention. "The Founding Families in Mystic Falls welcomes you to the inaugural Founder's Council Celebration." She read out loud to herself. "Wow, it's the original guest registry." She smiled a little, finding it fascinating.

It was at this point when Stefan and Olivia had made their way over.

Elena glanced over her shoulder to her sister, "Liv," She called, knowing this would be something her sister would love to see – especially for someone who loved history the way she did. "Look at what I've found."

Olivia still have her hand in Stefan's as they made their way over, "What is it?" She wondered, seeing her sister look at a framed list on the wall. Looking closely with her more enhanced eyesight, she saw it was some kind of guest registry from … 1864. _Oh, no_. Olivia thought, feeling a little dread fill her stomach when she saw the particular year. It was the same year that Stefan and Damon lived in Mystic Falls, but, surely their name wouldn't be on there, would it?

"It's the registry list for the very first Founders Party – isn't that cool?" Elena didn't see Stefan tense, nor her sister looking over to see it happen. "There's so many familiar names on here-" She started, about to read out a few of them. "-Sheriff William Forbes, Mayor Benjamin Lockwood, and … wait, is that … Stefan Salvatore? And Damon Salvatore?" Her tone quickly began turning confused, yet a little wary. She squinted her eyes to make sure she was reading it right, and indeed she was. There were two names on there with the exact same name of her twin's boyfriend and the guy she's extremely attracted to.

Stefan was obviously lost for words, he didn't know how to explain it and luckily for him, Damon stepped in from behind with an acceptable explanation. "The _original_ Salvatore brothers." His voice popping up made Elena spin around with surprise, but it was a nice surprise. She had originally been with a guy from the football team as a date but he ran off somewhere, she wasn't exactly sure where to be honest. "Our ancestors." He continued, hiding a smirk, "It's a tragic story, actually."

Stefan didn't like where this was heading, "We don't need to bore them with stories of the past."

Elena sure was interested, her eyes stayed on Damon's and ignored the fact that Caroline was hanging on his arm. "It's not boring; I'd actually love to hear more about your family. I'm sure Olivia would too." Knowing this could be a perfect opportunity for her both of them to learn more about the Salvatore's history.

Caroline didn't seem to find the subject very appealing though, "Well, I'm bored and Damon here won't dance with me." She announced, sending the older Salvatore an accusatory stare.

Damon shook his head adamantly with a hum, confirming it. He also had a look of distain on his face.

Caroline looked over to her best friend, "Can I _please_ steal your date for just a bit?" She begged Olivia. "I _really_ wanna dance." Bouncing lightly on her toes. It was quite well known that dancing was a fun thing she loved to do, among other things.

Stefan didn't really seem okay with it and Olivia herself looked hesitant, "Oh, uh, I don't really dance." He replied uncomfortably, not wanting to leave Olivia alone with Damon, or even her sister for that matter. He didn't know what his brother was planning – but it definitely couldn't be good.

Damon wasn't letting him off this easy, "Oh, sure he does." He waved his hand in the air, looking arrogantly boastful. Stefan was sending him a small glare but it was ignored, "You should see him. The waltz, the jitterbug, the moonwalk – he does it all."

"Please." Caroline begged again, looking between Stefan and Olivia.

Olivia let out a small sigh inside and finally gave a one shoulder shrug in response, "It's up to Stefan if he wants to or not." Giving the okay if that's what her boyfriend wanted.

Caroline straightened up her posture, a stubborn look on her face when she looked at Stefan, "Well, I'm sorry but _no_ is not an answer I will accept." With a step forward and a small reach, she grasped onto Stefan's hand before practically dragging him out of the room. But, before he left, Olivia gave him a reassuring look – she could handle whatever Damon might say within the next few minutes.

As Caroline and Stefan left, Elena turned back to Damon, intrigued, "So, what happened with the original Salvatore brothers?" She wondered. She wasn't usually one for history, but if it's coming from Damon Salvatore's silky voice, she'd learn anything any day.

"Well, the Salvatore name was practically royalty in this town, at least, until the war." Damon started to explain, slowly making his way over to the guest registry while Elena and Olivia followed in his movements. Elena was curious while hanging onto his every word and Olivia was just cautious, yet interested too – only about the history part. Because like she said this morning, Stefan hadn't really gotten into much of his history so far and she had a feeling that Damon was about to reveal some – whether it was fully true or not, she'd have to find out.

"There was a battle here-" Olivia cut him off, already knowing the answer.

"-The Battle of Willow Creek." She finished off his sentence. He tilted his head towards her, "We talked about it in class."

"Well, actually, _you_ did." Elena looked over to her twin with a sneaky smile, remembering that lesson very clearly. It was a great one indeed – Mr. Tanner got hit with his own game by two of his very own students. "Confederate soldiers had fired on a church with civilians inside." She remembered what her sister said and also what Stefan had to say.

Damon nodded, looking impressed but also carried on from that, "But what the history books left out was that the people left in there, they weren't there by accident. They were believed to be union sympathizers, so some of the Founder's on the confederacy side back then wanted them rounded up and burned alive." Olivia narrowed her eyes at this piece of information and by the look in the older Salvatore's eyes, there was certainly more to that story than he was telling. There's something he wasn't expanding on.

Elena couldn't believe it, "What?" She let out a small horrified gasp, wondering if she should believe it.

"Stefan and Damon both had someone they loved very dearly inside that church. Stefan had to actually watch his woman get stabbed in the heart before she was thrown inside." Olivia felt her heart clench, knowing that he was probably talking about Lyla and from what she had already suspected about the woman – Damon was probably subtly saying that she had been staked and killed. After assuming that Lyla had been a vampire of course.

She didn't know whether she should be relieved or not that Lyla was dead, if that's what Damon is truly saying – but part of her felt awful for even thinking it. And in a small sense, she hoped the vampire he used to love was dead. Was she an awful person for thinking such a horrible thing?

"And when the brothers actually went to try and rescue them – they were shot." Damon looked between the twins, his eyes lingering on Elena for a longer period of time, "Murdered in cold blood." The twins fell silent, and for two different reasons.

For Elena; she felt sad and pity towards the two brothers who were only trying to save someone they deeply cared for and it's a true shame that it actually happened in Mystic Falls of all places. Nothing ever really happens here these days and it's a deep and horrible event for the Founders to even think on doing such a thing. It didn't sound real, but by Damon's tone, he truly believed it.

For Olivia, however, she was thinking through the information and wondering if it were all true. And if it was, why did she have to find out from DAMON of all people? This should have been something Stefan told her, but no, it was his brother that had done the deed. It made her a little upset inside because she's spoken about her own life so much since they've met and lately she really has been realizing that very little had been spoken about himself. She didn't even know what kind of things he really likes – she knew he loved to read and listen old music, but what else? What _specific_ things did he enjoy the most? And why wasn't he telling her much about his own past?

She hated to say it because they've gotten so close over the past month or two, but he was still the mystery guy to her. She's been so wrapped up in the clouds with the fact that she's finally got a boyfriend, that she's finally feeling things she's never had before, and the notion that she can go out in public without constantly thinking about ripping out someone jugular was still getting to her.

She needed to know more about him – because she didn't want to be dating the mystery guy anymore. She wanted to be dating and be in love with Stefan Salvatore, the vampire who was turned in 1864 after being shot with a gun … so it seemed. If Damon was telling the truth about that part of the story.

…

"What did we miss?" Damon questioned as he and Olivia walked out to the patio area of the party, finding Stefan and Caroline standing by the drinks table. Outside was now dark and night had fallen, the stars were brightly shining above and the air was now a little chillier than it was during the day. Elena hadn't come with them because she had gone to find her own ass of a date to dance with before the party was over.

Stefan turned, seeing his girlfriend and brother coming over. His eyes glanced over to Olivia, seeing a her a little out-tuned from the conversation and much rather stuck in her own thoughts. He wondered what his brother had said between her and Elena, he got apprehensive thinking about it. "We were just chatting." He answered his brothers' question, jolting Olivia out of her head and back into reality. Both he and Caroline were holding glasses of champagne, not that they were actually allowed to drink and though they doubted trouble would come to them anyway.

While spending the time with Caroline, he slipped some of the vervain liquid Zach had given him into the blonde's drink – a just in case measure that Olivia wanted to take. Olivia planned not to let Damon touch another hair on Caroline's head, but just in case the guy doesn't actually keep his word, he'll fall into a minefield if he even tries to even touch Caroline's blood.

Stefan held out his own glass towards Damon, "Drink, Damon?" He prompted, raising his eyebrows in offering. He knew his brother wouldn't take it – especially after what happened before the party at the Boarding House.

"No, thanks." Damon declined coolly, shaking his head, "I'll pass." Thinking that it might actually be spiked – even though they were in the middle of a _Founders Party_ right this second.

"Stefan," Olivia suddenly spoke, looking to her boyfriend who suddenly turned to her voice. She smiled at him, putting out her hand for him to take, "Do you have another dance left in you?"

Stefan smiled at the suggestion, nodding his head, "For you, absolutely." He answered, vaguely remembering to place the glass of champagne back onto the table before reaching out to grab Olivia's hand. Ignoring his brother and Caroline who watched them leave for the dance floor, he tightened his grip around her hand, now leading her further into the crowd.

They stopped in the middle and each turned to the other; Olivia's arms wrapped around Stefan's neck while his held her at the waist - their bodies swerved to the soft beat of the music playing in the background.

From the side; Caroline looked at them with a pleasant smile on her face, seeing Olivia's face light up with the same smile that she's been seeing a lot lately – and Stefan returned it, they were clearly enjoying themselves out there. "They look _perfect_ for each other." She murmured to herself, feeling happy for her best friend/sister.

Damon, on the other hand, just hummed, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. But over to the side, he noticed Elena in the same position with a bulky muscled teenager - she didn't look as happy as her sister did. She looked okay in the moment, but not content or truly happy.

Stefan looked down at Olivia, content in the moment, "I hope Damon didn't drive you too crazy." He commented, splitting the silence in two. It was bugging him to know what he had said to her and Elena.

Olivia shook her head, the smile on her lips draining just a second when she remembered what Damon had talked about. "No, actually, he was on pretty good behaviour. All he did was talk about some history – about two women the Salvatore brothers' loved in particular." Throwing in the first clue.

Stefan hummed, nodding his head but also staying silent, not really knowing what to say to that.

"Tell me about her Stefan." Olivia couldn't stay quiet anymore as she looked up to his eyes - she wanted to know. By this point in their relationship, she deserved to know at least a bit of who he really was. "What happened to Lyla?" Leaving out the part that Damon had actually mentioned before. She also didn't know whether to believe the story Elena told her this morning – which also came from Damon, or the story that was just told ten minutes ago. She needed some truth from Stefan himself.

"It's-" Stefan hesitated, not wanting to put a downer on the mood. "It's not something I like to talk about."

"And I get that, I do." Olivia nodded, quickly replying, but also continued to push, "I just … you know that you can come to me, right?" She said, "I mean, I've burdened you with all my crap and I – I want you to do the same."

"I know," Stefan nodded, grateful for the offer. He didn't really seem to get the big picture at what she was trying to paint for him. "Thank you."

Olivia waited for a couple of seconds but then realised that he wasn't going to continue talking – he wasn't going to tell her anything. For the first time with him, she was becoming increasingly annoyed with his lack of communication.

"The truth is, Stefan…" Putting an ounce of frustration into her voice, "I've come to realise how little I actually know about you and I'd really love it if you would open up to me. I've opened up to you on countless occasions, told you things I've never told anyone in Mystic Falls and you even know my _darkest secret_." Keeping her voice low when she half mentioned the demon side.

Stefan's eyebrows were curving, his head leaned back a little when the realization came to him. He knew his brother had said something. "Damon said something, didn't he?" He knew it.

"You know what, yes, he did." Olivia stopped dancing, now just standing in front of Stefan – his arms still around her. "But it wasn't just him – it's also my sister. I know _nothing_ about you Stefan, I mean, not really." She paused, "And this isn't even about my sister or your brother, it's about _us_. It's about me actually getting to know you and before, I liked the idea of a mystery guy to begin with, but if this, whatever it _this_ is between us doesn't expand then all I'm left with is what other people tell me."

"I understand that you have secrets," She continued, not letting him go without saying what's been on her mind pretty much all day. "But I've shared a lot with you and some of it I haven't even said to another living soul. Why can't you do the same in return? I can handle anything, remember? And I don't mind if you want to keep some things buried, I'll obviously respect that, but at least give me _something_ to work with. _Anything_ about yourself will be fine."

Stefan was stumped into his spot, "Liv-" His words cut out, not able to fully think right now.

Olivia waited again, but he just stood there, not saying anything. She felt water starting to appear at the corner of her eye before she let out a small scoff. She shook her head before relinquishing herself from Stefan's grasp and without looking back – she walked away from him. Leaving him in the middle of the dance floor, left to figure out his thoughts and what the hell just happened.

…

Olivia stood next to the pond at the back of the Lockwood property. Her body was shaking while her mind reeled over the things she had just said to Stefan. She knew damn well it was all the truth, but she felt nervous about what may happen from now on. What would happen? She didn't even know where to go from here. But, all she could hope was that Stefan got the message about the kind of relationship she wants and acts on it.

She did what had to be done. She told herself.

"Well, now _that_ was tense." A voice said from behind, the one that she dreaded to hear and it made her skin tense. She closed her eyes, tilting her head back in exasperation. Damon came up to stand beside her, now holding a glass of champagne for himself.

Opening her eyes, she glanced over to him with annoyance in her posture.

"Why are you here, Damon." She questioned, not up for whatever he had to say nor how he was going to act. He had obviously heard the entire one-sided conversation she spouted out and for all she knew, he enjoyed it. There's only been one time where he's shown actual human emotions and she doubted it would happen again any time soon. Especially after he killed Mr. Tanner to try and prove a point.

Damon took a sip from the glass, "Come to see how you were faring after the lovers spat." He smirked, glancing over at her.

"I'm fine."

"Liar."

Olivia let out a deep breath, looking up to the sky once more before glancing over her shoulder and towards the Lockwood Mansion. She could see that everyone was fully invested in the party and the mansion was far enough away that no one would actually be able to recognize them – or even see what they were doing in this darkness. "I'm sorry, Damon." She apologized in advance, but the words themselves made the older vampire frown in confusion.

"For what?"

Olivia never replied because as soon as Damon's last words flowed out of his mouth, his body suddenly fell to the fall with a thud, the glass dropping beside him while the liquid got sucked up by the grass. She was suddenly standing over his dead body, his neck was snapped and her nerves were buzzing full of energy after what she had just done.

"Are you okay?" Another voice appeared from behind - Stefan's. She didn't turn to him or even answer his question, but rather got something out of the small purse in her hand. It was a needle full of clear liquid - vervain. Zach had given the vile to her last night and she was using an old needle that her father had in the basement. Her father was a doctor so he usually kept a few medical things around if they were needed.

After administering the vile into Damon's system, pumping him with enough vervain to keep him out for a couple of days, she slowly stood up and finally glanced over her shoulder to Stefan, "I'm fine." She replied, looking tired and drained. The sound of Damon's neck snapping echoed through her ears, especially when she looked down at the man again, "Just get him locked up and I'm gonna head home now. I'll see you later, Stefan."

Walking back towards the Lockwood Mansion, Stefan didn't stop her and a part of her was pained because of it. It wouldn't have taken much effort to stop her for even just a second, Damon would have been out long enough for Stefan to say something – but he never did. Because of this, she kept going and all the while wondering what was going to happen next.

 **Follow, Fav, and Review!**


	16. 5-1 Quiet Seperation

**Vampire Diaries Fanfic | Dawn of a New Day | You're Undead to Me – Part 1**

Three days later at the Salvatore Boarding House, Stefan made his way into the basement and towards the cell where Zach kept all his vervain hidden from plain sight. As he neared the cell, a creaking groan echoed to his ears, letting him know the person lying on the floor inside was finally starting to wake up.

Inside the cell, Damon was beginning to stir and a painfully searing feeling was constantly running through his veins. He tried to remember the last thing that happened while also trying to figure out where the hell he was. And after a couple of seconds, he realised what had happened to him – especially when the numbing pain around his neck finally registered.

"Ugh," Damon grumbled, barely able to open his eyes, "That _bitch_." The last face he saw before darkness was Olivia – she must have snapped his neck. He had to hand it to her, though, he never thought she'd do such a thing other than really deeply think about it. Honest to god, he had been completely caught off guard and he gave her props for that. Not that he'd actually say that out loud of course.

His mouth felt like it was filled with cotton balls and as he looked down at his hand, he realised that a piece of jewelry was missing from his finger. "Where's my ring?" He mumbled almost incoherently, now fully aware that someone had stopped just outside his cubical looking cell. He could also see just how many vervain plants were in the same room as him now that he was starting to wake up – both his blood and the air was pumping with the stuff. His nose twisted with tired annoyance, officially wanting payback.

There was a moment of silence.

"You won't be needing it anymore." Stefan finally told his brother, leaning against the metal cell door from the outside while his head poked through the barred hole.

Damon let out a low groan, "How long have I been here?"

"Three days."

He already knew what was happening, but he couldn't help but ask, "What're you doing?" He rolled over on the floor, feeling his clothing and hair soaked with sweat – he really needed a shower but knew his brother would never let him have one.

"During the Dark Ages when a vampire's actions threatened to expose or bring harm upon the entire race, they would face judgement." Stefan watched as his brother let out a hacking cough, rolling back over onto his side. "They sought to re-educate them rather than to punish them."

Damon tried licking his dry lips but even then they burned, "You know what will … will happen to me if I don't … feed on blood." He forced out his words, his throat was scratchy at best.

"You'll grow weaker and weaker." Stefan nodded, already knowing the process from beginning to end. He hated both doing and seeing this happen to his own brother, but it's for the good of everyone for this to happen – he knew now that Damon was never going to change his ways. "And eventually, you won't be able to move or speak. In a week your skin will desiccate, and you'll mummify and turn into a living corpse."

"You'll be unable to hurt anyone … ever."

"So, what?-" Damon coughed, feeling his energy drain even more as he continued to talk, "-you're just gonna leave me in the … the basement, forever?"

"I've injected you with enough vervain to keep you weak and once your circulation stops, I'll move you to the family crypt. And then in 50 years, we can re-evaluate."

Damon let out a strangled chuckle, unable to help but find his brothers' words amusing – he could think of a way or two to get out of this place, it's not like it's the first time he's had to break out of a vampire jail cell before. "I'm stronger than you think." He boasted but because of how little blood he had in him, and the fact that he felt like falling asleep, his words didn't really have much of the impact as they usually did.

"You always have been." Stefan couldn't help but agree, looking back on the past and all the times that those words have indeed been true. But this time, Damon would be wrong because _he_ had the higher ground. "But you're not stronger that the vervain … and we both know it."

Damon just turned his head away from the door, unable to disagree with that statement. Vervain was poison to all vampires, no matter how much blood they drank or what type. Even though deep down he knew this was a deserving punishment, he was still stubborn enough to hide that fact – he wanted to get out and chug down some much-needed blood.

He just needed a viable plan.

"I'm sorry." Stefan apologised, shaking his head while looking down, feeling just a touch guilty for having to do this to his own brother. If only Damon could have changed his ways or even left him alone and stayed away from Mystic Falls. "But you know it didn't have to be this way."

…

Olivia let out a deep sigh, snuggling deeper into her pillows as the light from the windows behind her streamed against her back. She hugged the pillow closer, her head turned to the side with an unhappy frown placed on her lips. She hadn't slept much last night, both because of the never ending nightmares and the fact that a lonely feeling had set up station within her again.

It's been THREE days since she last saw Stefan and she hated to admit it, but it was beginning to take a toll on her. She shouldn't be relying on one guy to make her feel happy but it's like she couldn't help it – she now felt miserable. She really had thought that the night after the party she'd see Stefan standing outside her window like he had after the Fall's party. But he hadn't and that's when it started getting bad for her.

Yesterday had been a school day and to be honest, it had been the worst day she's had in months. Realising it quickly, it had been the first day back at school when Stefan wasn't attending. He hadn't been at school and all she had been left with was a voicemail Friday night after she went to bed.

 _Hey, Liv. Damon's locked up and I've injected more vervain into his system and uh, I'm gonna keep an eye on him for a couple of days so I'll uh, see you soon._

A few times her finger had hovered over the call button but at the last second, she stopped herself. Stubbornly, she wanted him to be the one to call her and well, that hasn't exactly been going down very well, has it?

A knock sounded on the door.

"Liv?" The sound of Elena's voice appeared through the door, easily reaching the vampire's ears. When Olivia made no effort to get up to answer her bedroom door, nor even reply to her sister's voice, another knock turned up in volume. "Olivia, come on." The twin wasn't backing down, "It's time for school soon." It stayed silent.

Olivia picked up a low groan and following that, the sound of the door opening.

Elena opened the door to find her twin curled up in the bed sheets, not moving a single muscle so it looked as thought she was asleep. Her twin instinct was telling her something different, though. Closing the door behind her, she walked over to her sister's bed, plopping herself on top of the covers before laying behind her. Her body was turned on the side, now looking towards the sister that was trying to bury herself deeper into the covers.

"Come on," Elena pushed Olivia's body a little, knowing she was awake under there. "Tell me what's on your mind." Hoping to have a proper conversation without mumbles. She didn't exactly truly know what happened between Stefan and her sister, but she was sure that some kind of argument had gone down. Especially by the fact that Stefan hadn't called or come over in a while.

"It's nothing, Lena." Olivia mumbled into the sheets, not coming out of her cocoon. It also helped with stopping her sister's scent from reaching her nose because come to think of it, the last time she had a drop of blood touch her lips was yesterday afternoon – and it hadn't exactly been much.

"Liar."

Oliva's mind flashed back to the moment she snapped Damon's neck – that had been his last single word before she made him drop.

"Now, tell me what happened because I am _not_ letting you off this bed until you do."

 _Oh, no._ Olivia thought, knowing by the tone of her sister's voice that she was completely serious. The burn in her throat started to become more apparent. _She's really doing this to me, isn't she?_

With the feeling of defeat, she slowly emerged her head from the covers, her eyes just barely grazing over the materials. "I think I screwed it up, Lena." Olivia revealed, looking just a touch guilty. The words she said to Stefan kept flying around in her head and the scenes kept on playing past her eyes. Part of her knew what she said had been appropriate and relevant to how she was feeling, but maybe she had pushed too hard on the subject of demanding to know more about Stefan? But, was she just being stupid now because there's been no such communication with Stefan since that night? "I pretty much demanded to know more about Lyla and more personal things about him when it was clear he didn't want to speak about it."

Olivia stared at her sister like she wanted her question of ' _Did I do the right thing?_ ' answered. But much to her surprise, Elena was nodding with approval, a little smile on her lips.

"Good." Elena said bluntly, knowing her sister had done the exact right thing because it's something she would have done in that situation.

Olivia blinked, "Huh?" Lifting her head of the covers just a touch more.

Elena sent her a reassuring look, knowing what her sister was going through because believe it or not, she had been through the exact same thing with Matt. At one point in their relationship, she had felt like Matt was keeping something from her – and it had gotten to a point where she needed to know in order to know where they stood as a couple. "You did the right thing, Liv." She said, "And I'm pretty sure Caroline would actually agree with me on this one too."

"If Stefan doesn't come around and lay out his cards on the table, then maybe he isn't the one after all? And now…" Elena continued, raising a daring eyebrow, "If you don't get out of this bed within the next FIVE minutes, I will call Caroline and tell her that you're still lying in bed and wallowing over a guy who doesn't even have the guts to face you." If Stefan HAD come over since then, her sister wouldn't exactly be acting _completely_ like this.

Olivia groaned, flopping her head back down again, knowing Elena would also do that. Even though she's a vampire now, Caroline still scared her sometimes. "Okay, okay, fine." She grumbled into the pillow, "I'll get up … but only if you leave." She had to get her sister out of here because the bloodlust was growing even further – she needed to chug down a blood bag and quickly.

Elena let out a small huff, a smile on her face, "Fine then, be like that." Pretending to be hurt by the ultimatum but she did get up anyway, rolling her eyes before leaving the room. She knew Olivia would get up this time so there was no need for any more threats on her part.

As the door closed behind Elena, her sister gave a small sigh of relief before stripping the covers off her body – quickly getting off the bed. She bent down, looked underneath and sitting right there and plugged into the socket was her little refrigerator. She had to move it again over the weekend when she realised that hiding it in a closet may not be the smartest idea.

A full blood bag was downed in less than a few seconds and as it filled Oliva's stomach full, she let out a deep breath while relishing in the taste. She hated this – the taste was so delicious and looking down at the empty packet, she also wanted to hurl in disgust with what she had to do on pretty much a daily basis. Sometimes, she didn't really know how Lexi could do it – drink the blood and not think about what type of monster they were forced to become. But she knew that the vampire had been one for hundreds of years now and was probably more than capably adjusted.

Throwing away the empty blood sack into a plastic bag, she heaved out a sigh and nearly regretted her decision to get up as soon as she went for the clothes she was going to be wearing today.

' _Lena's right,'_ Olivia told herself with a sudden burst of a determination, _'It's Stefan's move to make and if he doesn't make it – I might as well get used to being a single vampire again with a social-functioning issue.'_

…

"He's awake." Stefan noted to Zach as he shouldered his backpack, all ready for school. "He's weak, but it's probably best to stay out of the basement." He advised, not wanting to see the only living Salvatore in Mystic Falls end up like the rest – dead and by the hands of Damon Salvatore. He knew his brother was probably thinking up a couple of schemes that could get him out and back to the land of the humans again. He was just glad that Zach actually drank vervain every day and has done for decades. It was a small comfort to him despite the fact that Damon could do much worse in spite of that. "He's Damon, but still dangerous even if he is shutting down."

Zach was in the kitchen with a mug of coffee in his hand, listening intently. He was nodding, understanding because he knew the basis of what his vampire ancestor could do, "You're going to school?" He suddenly caught sight of the school bag on Stefan's shoulder. He was a little confused because a part of him thought that once Damon was done and dusted with, he'd maybe move away from town and leave him be. But then Olivia came to mind, and he knew that scenario wasn't exactly realistic after all.

"Yeah," Stefan nodded, glancing towards the front door. He was itching to get back to that place, which is pretty silly considering any vampire would stay away from going back to school. But he wanted to go back. He needed to make things right with Olivia and he realised now – he's been such a dick and she was right, he hasn't really said anything about himself before, at least not much. And in her eyes, he really was still the mystery guy she met outside the bathroom that day. "I came here to live a life and I plan on continuing with that, and with Olivia..." He shook his head, "If she's still speaking to me of course."

Zach's brows furrowed with confusion, "Why haven't you called her?" It's not like the vampire part of the deal was a secret.

"Cause I'm an idiot." He answered plain and simple. "I want to protect her from my past but she doesn't want to stay in the dark about it."

"Then tell her." The human Salvatore simply stated, shrugging his shoulders like it wasn't such a big deal. "The connection between any relationship is truth and trust, and if you can't be truthful with her, then why are you even going back to school?"

…

"The sexy suds car wash is tomorrow." Caroline said, her arms full of flyers while she and Olivia travelled down the hallway just before first class was to start. This car wash was something she had arranged completely, well, mostly by herself with the help of a few others, and by a few, she meant Olivia. Even though Olivia was no longer a part of the cheerleading squad, Caroline was still forcing her to attend events that she could clearly help with. Besides, at least they'll be able to spend time together then instead of how they used to with practice.

"The football team and the band have committed," The blonde continued, pausing in the hallway to paste another flyer onto the wall for everyone to see. This car wash was actually a fundraiser in remembrance of the late Mr. Tanner. Everyone in the school had mostly dealt with the fact that their never going to see they're most hated teacher again … some were actually glad, even though that sounds particularly bad to say towards a dead person. "Well, not _all_ the band … just the ones who can pull off a bikini like you and me."

Olivia tried not to think about the bikini part, that's something she wasn't completely comfortable with but for Caroline's sake, she stayed quiet played along.

"I want _in-your-face_ _sexy_. I mean, it's a fundraiser for god sake."

Obviously, it had been the same amount of time for Caroline since Damon disappeared, and she seemed to be okay with it – on the outside. But knowing Caroline, she was probably hiding all the emotions deep inside. It hurt Olivia to know that she had been responsible for Damon to be, well, gone … but it was the right thing to do. Getting rid of Damon would protect Mystic Falls and most of all the people she cared about in this small secluded town.

"Do you still have that cute purple bikini you used last summer?" Olivia was jolted out of her mind when Caroline asked her question. The blonde was looking at her expectantly, waiting for her answer.

"Uh," Olivia tried to think back as it's been a while since she's actually been swimming at all. "Yeah, I think so." Her body hasn't exactly changed much in a year so she should be good to wear it. The only thing, she's definitely going to be wearing a pair of shorts along with her bikini … maybe even a thin shirt. Caroline just said they had to look sexy, right?

"Good." Caroline nodded with approval as they approached her locker, "Wear that." She ordered before turning towards her locker, beginning to go through the combination on the lock. As she finished, a figure unnoticeably moved over to them from the side. Olivia was leaning against the locker beside Caroline's but her body was turned towards her best friend.

"Hey," A male voice cut through the air, making both Olivia's and Caroline's head snap over to it in surprise. It was Stefan. You could tell that Olivia was at least a bit shocked by seeing him there, especially after having nearly zilch communication over the last couple of days.

"Stefan?!" Caroline exclaimed, blinking away for a second before a smile lifted on her face. She glanced over to her best friend and forgot about the fact that she needed school books from her locker because she promptly closed it and held the flyers still close to her chest. "I'll leave you two alone." Wanting them to make up after whatever happened on Friday; they looked so great on that dance floor at the Founder's Party but she did understand where Olivia was coming from. It was about time that Stefan started to break out of this 'mystery guy' shell he had going on for him.

As Caroline left the two alone, walking down the part of the hallway she came in from, Stefan turned his full attention to Olivia. She was looking around awkwardly, not really sure what to say, to be honest.

Stefan was the first to cut the silence.

"I am so sorry I haven't called." He apologized first-hand, looking guilty.

Olivia sent him a smile, but it showed no happiness behind it, more like annoyance, "No worries," She shrugged, trying to make it seem like it didn't matter to her, but really, it meant a whole lot. "I'll live." _No pun intended._ "You had to deal with Damon, I get it." Although, she didn't understand why that didn't warrant a call or two.

"Yeah, he's been dealt with," Stefan told, his eyes flickering around while his voice lowered just a touch. There were a lot of people walking about in the hallways so it wasn't too likely he'll be overheard anyway. "His body's finally shutting down."

Olivia slowly nodded, crossing her arms across her chest, "Okay…" She said slowly, "Is that it?" If he's not going to talk, she'll just walk the other way like Elena suggested. She did understand the Damon situation, but still, it felt like she was being left out in the cold.

"No," Stefan shook his head, instantly stating, "You were right … at the party, I haven't exactly been the most open person and I'm sorry it took me this long to realize. How about I cook dinner tonight and you can get to know the real me?" He reached forwards and grasped one of her hands, he felt her grip gently onto his as well.

At his suggestion, something inside her started to lift. She could feel that familiar bubbly feeling crawling back into her again as a small smile started making its way onto her lips. Her eyes lit up just as his did, "Okay," She nodded after a moment, repeating his words in her head to make sure she had heard him right. "I'd like that."

 **Note: For those who were inquiring on when Elena will find out about Olivia being a vampire, it'll be in the last chapter of this episode. Not too long how … ooo. How do you think Elena will react?**

 **Follow, Fav, Review!**


	17. 5-2 Making up for Mistakes

_**This story has officially reached 400 FAVS on Quotev! Ahh! Thank you so much, guys!**_

 **There's going to be a few changes and original pieces in this chapter rather than how the scenes work in the episode. I hope you like it!**

 **Vampire Diaries Fanfic | Dawn of a New Day | You're Undead to Me – Part 2**

Stefan Salvatore was standing in the middle of the dairy selection isle at the nearby grocery store the moment school ended that day, his eyes gazing over the different varieties of cheeses and yogurts. The dish he had in mind for tonight was one that he planned to do from the moment Olivia accepted the invitation for him to cook dinner. This was a massive hope of forgiveness for how ridiculous he's been over the last couple of days. After confirming with Jeremy about his girlfriend's favourite dish, he got to work in remembering the recipe in his head. It really did help that he came from an Italian background with a high passion for cooking from scratch.

"Stefan?" A voice said with a pinch of uncertainty behind him just as he went to grab a medium pot of mozzarella, five balls of compact cheeses rolling around inside. He would have made his own but it takes time and it's something he didn't have on such a short notice – it's also because it's been a while since he's actually made it from scratch so he may need a refresher.

Stefan turned around after grabbing the pot and was surprised to see Elena Gilbert, Olivia's twin sister, standing behind him. She was standing there with a small look of surprise on her face but then there was a stubbornness set in. Her arms crossed over her chest and she stood there looking determined. "Elena?" Wondering what she was doing here because this was a grocery store. From what he could gather, Elena didn't do any type of shopping unless it involved clothes or hanging out with Bonnie Bennett. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to talk," Elena replied, glancing around and noticed that they were actually the only two people down this isle right now. "Liv mentioned that you were coming over tonight."

"I am." Stefan nodded, a little confused but answered anyway, "I'm going to make her chicken parmesan."

"Good choice." The brunette nodded approvingly with a small smile, but then it vanished and another look crossed her face. "But first, I wanna say this. I haven't actually had a real chance to talk to you since you started dating my sister but I just wanted to say one thing. I've seen a real difference in my sister since you came into her life and I think that's great, it's a good thing and I hope it stays that way." She looked into his eyes, taking a deep breath, "But, if you even _think_ about hurting her intentionally and I mean ANYTHING intentional, then I will become the _definition_ of a protective sister and it will NOT be pretty." She paused. "Understand?" Raising an eyebrow as if daring to question her.

Stefan blinked with shock but nodded slowly anyway, understanding completely where she was coming from. He was actually a little amazed that this talk hadn't come sooner but he liked that there was an understanding – he respected the fact that Elena Gilbert was protective of her sister. He also liked the fact that she was also NOTHING like Katherine Pierce, just as Olivia was _absolutely nothing_ like Lyla Pierce.

"Good." Elena accepted the nod as an agreement. She was about to turn away but her whole body language shifted, one that slipped into a more carefree stance, "And Stefan," She continued, starting to smile gratefully now with clear happiness, "Thank you." She said truly, "If you hadn't come to town when you did … I don't think Olivia would have ever been this happy." And slowly, she started backing away from him before her feet began walking her towards the end of the isle.

Stefan was watching her go before another voice caught his attention from the side – an old man had stopped beside him, his face filled with bewilderment and disturbance. "I know you." The vampire's head snapped to the voice, "My god…" The man breathed. He was probably in his seventies to eighties with a brown suit and tie, an African-American male with grey hair spotting from the top of his head.

Stefan's brow crinkled, "I'm sorry?" He quickly ran through the hundreds of memories in his head but he didn't recognise the man.

"I know you." The man continued with knowledge in his voice, looking the young male up and down as if to prove his mind was right. "But … how can it be?" His voice suddenly sent a cold shiver down Stefan's back because he now had an inkling as to why the guy might recognise him. Of course, he's been in Mystic Falls before and there have been people that have noticed him during those years, but he had prayed that no one would recognise him … maybe that wasn't such a good thought.

Stefan knew he needed to stop this man talking, "I think you have the wrong person, sir." He said, not using compulsion because there was a lady now walking down the isle now with two children in her shopping cart. He also didn't want to use his compulsion because it wasn't very reliable, and Olivia didn't like it anyway.

"You haven't aged a day."

"Goodbye, sir." Stefan gave him a curt nod and a small smile before walking away from the man, feeling the puzzled gaze follow his back as he went. He let out a deep breath, thankful that Elena hadn't been with him at the exact moment to hear all that. It would make her even warier than she had been in the past and he knew that Olivia couldn't take that right now, not after everything that's happened so far in the past few weeks.

But as he left with his mozzarella, he didn't notice that in the next isle, right next to the area where the two had conversed; Elena was standing there next to the shelving unit, her face turned towards the direction with a frown on her lips after having heard near enough every single word that came out of their mouths. Suspicious was a good word to use for how she was feeling. ' _You haven't aged a day'_ made her mind reel but also the fact that the man's voice sounded so sure. It was confusing to say the lease and from what she could assess also, Stefan tried really hard judging by his voice to get away from the conversation – he was stalling, trying to stop the man from saying anything else.

Her eyes narrowed in thought – her words had been completely honest earlier with Stefan but there was still this nagging feeling in her gut, and this was just another piece of the annoying puzzle she just couldn't seem to figure out. It was the same with her sister because yes, she's been seeing a lot more of the original Olivia Gilbert from before the Chicago trip, but there was also something else – she wanted to know what was being hidden.

She _needed_ to know what was being hidden from her.

…

Zach Salvatore was sitting in the kitchen reading a newspaper with a mug of coffee in his hand. His head jerked up when a round of pained coughing echoed throughout the house and he knew exactly who it was coming from – Damon Salvatore. His head turned towards the direction of where the basement entrance was, the place that had access to Damon's cell and he silently contemplated something – his mind thinking through what will probably be the dumbest thing he does all day.

After a few seconds, he gets up from his chair and slowly, he walks towards the drying-out vampire hidden away downstairs in his very own basement.

…

Zach stopped just outside the cell, his eyes peeking through the openly grated cubby hole in the door. Damon was lying against the wall with his eyes closed, his body barely moved a muscle and it looked as though he wasn't breathing. Zach paused himself for a moment, "I'm full of vervain." He stated confidently, knowing Damon couldn't get to him in anyway shape or form right now. The door was tightly shut from the outside, the vampire was completely pumped with vervain and was in a room full of dozens of the plant, and he, himself, was standing away from the door while looking in. "I've been putting it in my coffee for 16 years so my blood will only make you worse." He received no reply, which was surprising since there was always a comeback response. "Damon?"

"So it was your vervain…" Damon's eyes slowly opened with a small cough, his parched mouth wishing for some warm juicy blood, "…good for you." His voice was scratchy and his body was barely able to function, he could feel his limbs and undead systems start to truly shut down now. He vaguely heard footsteps move just an inch closer to his cell and a small inner smirk began to linger in his mind, hoping his plan would work. "I guess family only runs so deep, huh?" His voice didn't stutter like it had done before but it sounded very tired.

Zach's teeth grounded together, "We're not family, Damon." He said defiantly, shaking his head, "Only in the most dysfunctional sense." That would be a good way of putting it. "In fact, I avoided having a living, breathing, loving family because of you." He watched as Damon's head rolled towards him, looking at him with barely open eyes.

Damon cleared his dry throat, "I guess I can't talk you into bringing me a rabbit or something?" He tried, knowing it would have no luck anyway. He never really liked Zach, in fact, he never really liked anyone in his family apart from Stefan and his mother. "I'd settle for _Stefan's diet_ at this point."

"You know I can't do that."

"Well then, you succeeded, Zach." Damon's eyes started to flutter close, almost as though he were falling to sleep, "I'm shutting down." His breathing heaved, "You're just like you Grandfather." A horrible memory flashed before his eyes, one that made him want to rip out a throat, "He didn't like it when I came to visit, either."

"But you don't VISIT, Damon." Zach retorted, his eyes narrowing as he took another step forwards towards the thick door, unknowingly falling into the vampire's escape plan, "You appear unannounced … reminding me that this isn't my house and that you're just permitting me to live here." He scoffed angrily, "Hell, that you're even permitting me to LIVE."

The corner of Damon's lip quirked, "Someone had to mow the lawn."

Zach shook his head with an unamused chuckle, his veins flaming with a furiousness. "I came to say goodbye, Damon."

After taking one last look at the vampire, Zach turned away from the cell and that action alone could have possibly been his biggest mistake yet because before he could even take a step away, all of a sudden he found himself pinned to the door from behind with a strongly gripped hand holding him at the throat. He let out a choked wheezing noise, no air able to get to his lungs while his eyes were widened in fear, realising that he was currently within the demon's deadly hold.

"Unlock it." Damon's growl echoed throughout the hallway, his face near enough right next to the human's ear. " _Unlock the door, Zach_!"

Before anything could either be said or done, Zach suddenly found himself released and his body tumbled to the ground in a heap. Damon was ripped away from Zach, his body thrown away from the door before his legs could carry him no more and he collapsed inside the cell after exhausting his energy. Stefan stood there after having relinquished the tight grip his brother had on their human descendant. His eyes were now narrowed towards his brother from the grated hole in the door, watching as a grunt fell out of the vampire's mouth. "Keep it up, Damon!" He called into the cell, "The more energy you expend, the faster you go."

Zach stumbled into a standing position after regaining his breath from a round of hacking coughs. His throat throbbed with a numbing sensation while his breath tried to labour. He felt Stefan grab onto him when he nearly fell again, and he rubbed his throat with continuous coughs as the vampire led him away from Damon Salvatore.

…

 _Dear Diary,_

 _I've never been in a relationship before and I'm pretty sure that last Friday, Stefan and I hit the first rock. He's supposed to be coming over tonight to cook dinner and talk, but I'm not really sure what he's going to cover or what he's going to be comfortable revealing. Will he answer my questions? Will I finally be able to see the real Stefan Salvatore hidden beneath the vampire exterior and what I already know? I don't want to feel like I'm intruding but, on the other hand, he really needs to start giving me something to work with._

Suddenly, Olivia's head perked up from the diary and her pen paused the moment a knock sounded on her door. She must have been so engrossed in her writing that she hadn't even heard footsteps approaching her room. Her brow furrowed, "Yeah?" It could either be Jeremy or Elena, but she didn't remember her sister coming home just yet from Bonnie's place.

The door opened and her little brother's head poked just inside, simultaneously as his body did. Jeremy had a small grin on his face, one that made Olivia narrow her eyes slightly in suspicion. "Hey, what'cha doing?" He questioned, leaning himself against the doorway while acting coolly.

Her eyes glanced over to the alarm clock on her side table and her heart dropped a little when she realised what the time was. It's fifteen minutes over the time Stefan was supposed to arrive. She's heard no doorbell but for some reason she could hear someone in the kitchen … it was probably Jenna making herself something to eat. It couldn't possibly be Stefan; he hasn't arrived yet. It was 8:15pm. "Looks like I'm waiting for a guy who's late for dinner." She muttered, feeling upset. She glanced at the wall that separated her room from Jeremy's, "Is Vicky still in there?" She questioned, knowing the answer already due to her immaculate hearing and pair of earbuds she currently had sitting on her bed.

Jeremy instantly smiled at Vicky's name, "Maybe." He answered, not giving her a 'Yes' or 'No' answer but instead, he decided to be vague. "And you should go downstairs." He prompted with a gesture to his head before leaving the doorway without another word, walking back towards his own room. The door stayed propped open as he left it.

Olivia's brows furrowed and her head tilted with confusion at the gesture, however, she did as she was told by putting away her diary under her pillow. And slowly, she got up from the bed before making her way downstairs.

…

Olivia heard a small clatter within the kitchen as she moved off the last step of the stairs, her head turning towards the direction with confusion. Usually, Jenna made something basic with the oven or microwave, but from what she could hear, it sounded like pans were being brought out and used. "Jenna?" She called, thinking it was the redheaded aunt instead of the boyfriend she was expecting to ring the doorbell at any second.

When she heard no answer, she continued towards the kitchen in silence before reaching the entrance from the hallway, and surprisingly the sliding doors were actually closed – usually they were always open. The sound of something being chopped hit her just as she began to open the doors, sliding them either side of her – she paused in the doorway, startled to see who was really in the kitchen. It was Stefan. "Stefan?" He was standing there in different clothing than he was wearing before and this suddenly made her feel a little stupid for wearing the exact same clothes as before. Stefan was wearing a long-sleeved brown plaid shirt with dark jeans and she was wearing exactly what she had been wearing to school, and this consisted of a pair of black jeans and a long-sleeved forest green shirt with a V-neck.

From the look of everything that's been set up around him, he's probably been here for the last twenty minutes or so. Stefan paused in what he was doing when he heard the doors slide open – he had been slicing up the mozzarella. He looked up with a small smile and a light shined in his eyes, "I wanted to surprise you." He shrugged lightly with a sheepish look, "So I asked Jeremy to sneak me in a while ago."

Olivia internally rolled her eyes, of course, that's why Jeremy was not-so-secretly grinning upstairs before he ordered her downstairs. "What are you cooking?" She wondered, seeing firstly what he was chopping, the mozzarella. There were some other ingredients placed on the counter, either waiting to be cooked or prepared. She started slowly walking over to him, a smile beginning to form on her lips as he continued to cut the cheese. Inside, she was just glad that Stefan hadn't forgotten about the dinner he suggested – and the surprise was sweet, no one has ever done that for her before.

"Chicken Parmesan." He answered, watching as her face lit up at the name of the dish, "I remembered you mentioning it the first night I came over and being from demanding Italian routes, I just happen to be a very good cook." He picked up the half-used pot of mozzarella and held it up, "I can even make my own mozzarella but unfortunately for tonight, it's store bought." It would never taste the same as the freshly made stuff but for tonight, it'll have to do.

"My mom used to make Chicken Parmesan every Friday," Olivia randomly said, but there was a sadness to her tone as she reached over to pick up an onion – holding it as she reminisced. Stefan listened intently, "We had this system where I would pick Friday's dinner, Elena would have Saturday and Sunday would be for Jeremy. Then from Monday to Thursday it was dedicated to whatever was left to cook with." Memories started to flash before her eyes before she could stop them, ones of past dinners as a family inside the Gilbert household. Clearing her throat, she directed her voice towards Stefan this time instead of no one in particular, "So how's this going to work?" She referred to the 'getting to know you' part after working up the courage to ask. She placed the onion back onto the counter before looking up at him through her eyelashes.

There was a moment of silence.

"You want to know me, right?" Stefan asked, feeling a little nervous about the fact that he was going to be telling her pretty much of everything – whether it was good or bad. He didn't want to keep any secrets from her, just as she hadn't done to him from the moment she knew what he was.

Olivia nodded and from the feel of the conversation, she might actually be getting some much-needed answers from him tonight after all.

"Well, you were right, I have been keeping things to myself that you deserve to know." Stefan started, grabbing another mozzarella ball from the pot before he placed it on the chopping board. Olivia stood there at the counter near enough beside him, but within arms length. "So … let's start with Lyla."

Olivia felt herself jump inside when she heard the ex's name pop up – she hadn't expected that to be the first topic. Lyla had been a starting point of how the last conversation went badly. She started to hesitate, knowing that it was a difficult subject for him from what she had previously gathered, "Stefan, you don't have to-" But she was interrupted by him and he continued.

"She was … the most beautiful girl that I had ever met." He said honestly, wanting to get this out. It's been over a hundred years since Lyla had really crossed his mind and it's a woman that he really wanted to forget. He looked up to Olivia, and he noticed that she was listening to his every word. "She had this perfectly tanned skin and it was a little lighter than her sister's. She had a twin; Katherine. But Lyla had this laugh and it was ridiculously comforting, she made you want to join her. She was fun and knew how to have a good time."

"But…" He paused, thinking back to the girl he thought he loved but didn't actually in the end, "I didn't actually realise it until I turned into a vampire that from the very beginning, almost to the day she arrived at the Salvatore Mansion, she had been compelling me. She abused the attraction I had for her as a game." He already knew there were no peeping ears about so he could talk freely about their conditions, and the only two people in the house currently were inside a bedroom upstairs. His statement also confirms Olivia's thoughts on whether the girl was a vampire or not. "Lyla was a very impatient person with no regard for life, she was entitled, selfish, and impulsive."

"And Damon … he never used to be like the way he is now, not when he was human, anyway." Stefan continued, his words on a roll, "It's mostly my fault, though, I forced him to turn and it's my fault both Lyla and Katherine are both dead. I don't regret being the fault of their deaths because if they hadn't come into our lives, I'd still have the brother I knew back then. And now, my own brother's been haunting me because of it for over a hundred and forty-five years now." Although, if those two hadn't come to town then he and Damon most likely would not have become vampires – and that means he would never have met Olivia.

"Damon loved Katherine." Olivia understood what he was saying. Stefan was with one twin while Damon was with the other. And guiltily, she was glad Lyla was at least dead, but a big part of her isn't. She started to smile to herself while Stefan stole glances at her, his hands still working the dish at the same time – he was finally telling her things that should be told from his mouth, and no one else's. She was thankful for that, because now she knew the real story behind Lyla and Katherine, although she didn't actually know Katherine even existed until this conversation. But she now knew partly the reason of while Damon is why he is today.

…

About ten minutes into the final preparations for the dish, the two vampires were still talking, well, Stefan was talking while Olivia threw in the occasional few comments. Stefan was now chopping up the garlic into fine dices while Olivia was cutting pieces out of a large baguette that was going to be used as garlic bread.

"I'm an avid reader, as you already know, but I am a HUGE Fitzgerald fan. ' _The Great Gatsby'_ his masterpiece." Stefan continued spouting out random things about himself that a girlfriend should know about their boyfriend. He was feeling content in this kitchen, cooking with Olivia by his side – although, he was mostly doing all the cooking while she helped prepare a few things. "But I am no snob, I do love some good Grisham." Olivia chuckled lightly, seeing his face light up at all the names he was saying that were his favorite, "I think ' _Seinfeld_ ' is the best American Television show for the past fifty years, however, ' _I love Lucy'_ is all time. ' _The Loving Cup'_ episode was the best, I think. Huge Scorsese fan – I could watch 'Taxi Driver' over and over again."

Olivia's lips quirked with a small laugh, "Careful now, Stefan … your age is showing." She teased, knowing that most or all the things he mentioned were very outdated compared to the usual present films and shows. She placed the cut slices of bread on a white dinner plate, all of them ready for the garlic spread to be put on. A chuckle left Stefan's lips too, his chest rumbling at the motion. It was true, though, and it's a good thing he looked seventeen instead of his real age. "So, what about music?" Olivia continued, intrigued to know more details about him.

Stefan finished dicing all the garlic's into very, very minuscule pieces before scooping them into a small bowl. "It's pretty much across the board when it comes to music." He started, placing the knife down on the cutting board before heading over to the fridge where he stored the butter. He was currently making the mixture for the garlic spread and unfortunately, the Gilberts didn't have a garlic crusher so that's why he's had to finely chop the garlic pieces. "Um, let's see – Dylan, Hendrix, Patsy, Willie. Oh, Kanye … and you know what?" He looked to her the moment she glanced over to him, "I even like that one Miley song." He admitted.

Olivia had an amused look on her face, not really able to see that, "Really?" She countered with clear suspicion leaking into her tone, not sure whether to believe him or not, "What's the name of the song called?"

"' _The Climb'_ and it came out early this year." Answering her question almost instantly and then she knew he was really telling the truth and judging by the way he was grinning, he knew she had her beat. He walked back over to the bowl of garlic before promptly beginning to spoon in enough butter made for the baguette slices.

"You know; it's a good thing garlic doesn't do the same as vervain." Olivia commented, playing with a small piece that was left over as she sat on the counter high chair and watch him, "Things would have gotten _pretty_ awkward otherwise." More so in her case, especially after she returned from Chicago. Everyone would be questioning why she was coughing up a lung because of a few sprinkles of garlic.

Stefan nodded, completely agreeing. Cooking also wouldn't be true cooking in some dishes without the taste of garlic. "It's a good cover, though," He said, "Only those who really know about vampires can understand what works and what doesn't."

Olivia grabbed a spoon from the side before beginning to help him spread the mixture on the baguette slices. There was a content silence between them before she paused for a second, her looking at him, "Stefan," She said, wanting to gain his attention. And as expected, he looked up, "Thank you." Nothing else had to be said because he already knew why she was thanking him – but really, he should be thanking her. And he did so because he had also paused in the spreading of the garlic mixture, and within a few seconds, their lips touched and he kissed her, her mouth moulding perfectly against his.

…

A couple of hours later; Stefan went home back to the Boarding house and Olivia let out a small sigh, but it was a fulfilled and happy one because the night went much better than she had hoped. She was currently washing the left over plates that they had used for dinner and after much stubbornness, Stefan finally caved in and let her do them. He had cooked for them, so she offered to wash everything up and besides, she was no where near tired right now – more wired and alert than anything.

She had some of her favorite songs playing from her phone sitting on the counter as she washed the dishes and her head suddenly snapped up when she heard the front door open and close. She pretended she didn't hear the noise because from what she could gather, it was done very quietly. But the whiff associated with her sister hit her nostrils.

"What are you still doing up?" Elena placed her bag on the couch before walking into the kitchen to find her sister doing the dishes. Her body danced a bit when her favorite Taylor Swift song started to play on her sister's phone but otherwise moved over to the cupboard to get a plate for herself. She had to make herself something to eat because all she had at Bonnie's was snacks. What she saw at the grocery store came to mind because part of her wanted to tell Olivia, but refrained from doing. It's probably just her stupidly paranoid mind – there's no point dwelling on it, especially right now.

Olivia glanced over her shoulder with a smile, "Just finishing this and then I'll head upstairs to bed." Well, she won't go to sleep straight away – it'll be near impossible right now.

Elena nodded to herself as she went over to the fridge and grabbed the packet of carrots, whole wheat bread, and ham. "So, how did the date go?" She wondered curiously, walking back over to the chopping board she also grabbed on the way.

An instant smile appeared on the vampire's lips and she ducked her head when a small blush appeared on her cheeks, "It was great." The happiness clear in her voice, one of which her sister could easily detect, and that brought a smile to her own face.

"Really?" Elena countered, at the same time hoping that Stefan had stayed true to his word and opened up rather than avoiding the subject like last time at the Founder's Party. "So he's opening up to you?" Wanting to make sure.

Olivia nodded with a small look over her shoulder, "He really opened up," She assured her sister, "He even answered some questions that I didn't even think of."

"That's good." She nodded, glad that the relationship between the two seemed to be more or less fixed now. She opened the bag of carrots before pulling two out. She grasped the large knife in her right hand and began to chop the vegetable into big enough slices. "So, Stefan isn't a calculating manipulative liar?" She looked up briefly, remembering her own words from last week after she found out about the _possible_ story between Stefan and his ex, Lyla.

Olivia chuckled, shaking her head, "No. He's-" She wanted to continue but instantly she stopped when she a small hiss came from her sister's mouth from behind and following that was a strong but sweet, and tantalising smell. The vampire froze, her body stiffening. "Ow, ah…" Elena gritted her teeth, her right hand dropping the knife to the counter when a small pool of blood started leaking from a small cut on her second finger on the left hand. She hadn't been looking where she was pointing that thing – how stupid was she?

Olivia slowly turned around to see what had happened and suddenly it felt like her gaze couldn't leave the few drops of blood on the cutting board, slivered on the silver chefs knife. She barely registered the fact that Elena had moved over to the side to where the paper towel was stationed on a rack. She swallowed, making herself push through the lust. She had moved away from the sink with her hands dripping wet, and her head now turned towards the source of the blood in the corner of the kitchen.

Elena was dabbing some clean paper towel against the wound when she looked up. And suddenly, something caught her eye. It was her sister's gaze … but there was something different about the way her face looked; there were tiny black veins crawling underneath the skin around the top of her cheeks and if she wasn't mistaken, there was almost a ruby tint to the pupils themselves. A startling gasp left her lips when she noticed this and Olivia, on the other hand, realized what was happening and quickly turned herself around to hid the demonic facial features.

"You're face…!" Elena exclaimed, spinning around on her heels to turn towards the sister who now had her back turned towards her.

Olivia cleared her throat, her fingers rubbing against the area where the veins formed. She felt the fans start to drop within her mouth, "Uh, I think there's something in my eye." She said as calmly as possible which was a lot harder than it sounds, she kept pulling away from her twin at the same time when she tried to get her to turn around. She started breathing deeply and remembered back to Stefan's advice in order to pull away from the demon within her.

"Olivia, turn around!" Elena demanded, getting frustrated when her sister kept pulling away from her, rubbing her eyes continuously.

Thankfully, it only took a few seconds before the feeling in her face started returning to normal and with a relieved feeling inside, she turned back around looking completely normal like before. Elena, on the other hand, looked gobsmacked and maybe a little shaken. But, after a second, a little chuckle left her lips with a shake of her head at her own stupidity. "Wow," Elena placed a hand against her forehead, wondering if she was coming down with something. "God, I think that my paranoia has turned into full-blown hallucinations."

Olivia knew she needed to leave the room now before her cravings came back, "And that's why I love you, Lena." She assured while glancing over to the sink to see there was still a few things left too clean. She kept her eyes away from looking back over to the blood that was slowly drying up on the counter and her sister's finger, "You know what, I'm getting tired." She started to say, "I'll finish whatever's left to wash up in the morning." And with a small uneasy smile, she started walking out of the room and practically ran up the stairs towards her bedroom – leaving a very bewildered and conflicted twin sister in the kitchen with a bleeding finger.

 **Follow, Fav, and Review!**

 **PLEASE** **take a few seconds to leave me a comment! It would mean so much to me!**


	18. 5-3 Sexy Suds Car Wash

**Olivia's clothing for the car wash can be found on my Polyvore Account! Information on my username can be found on my profile! There is also a picture of Olivia's daylight ring on there too! Clothing Code '** _ **Olivia Gilbert - Sexy Suds Car Wash'**_

 **Vampire Diaries Fanfic | Dawn of a New Day | You're Undead to Me – Part 3**

"Ooo, _sexy_." A voice sounded from behind Olivia the next morning as she finished getting ready for the car wash. As instructed, she had dived into her old clothing from last summer and retrieved the bikini Caroline wanted her to wear so badly. She was currently standing in front of her tall-standing mirror in the corner of her room, looking at her body uncomfortably because more than 70% of her body felt as if it were on for show. She wore a pair of light blue shorts and of course, the purple bikini that made her feel like she was only wearing her bra and panties.

Elena was wearing something similar as she walked into her sister's room, flopping onto the bed and all ready to go. She was wearing a pair of shorts were just a touch longer, her bikini was a mixture of black and red while on top of that, she wore a white crop top and a cotton long-sleeved V-neck shirt. Unlike her sister's hair, which was naturally curled, hers was straightened. Olivia's long dark hair really complimented what she decided/was forced to wear today.

Olivia rolled her shoulders back, frowning, "This is _way_ too revealing." She stated, bending down to reach for the blue crop-like top she had also fished out of her closet. It was something Caroline had bought her at one point while claiming that her wardrobe needed an upgrade. It's not that she had a horrible looking body or that she felt uncomfortable in it – it was because, according to Caroline, she had a model's figure body. It's just the fact that there's going to be A LOT of people at this car wash today and more of them she wouldn't really know. Today just sort of felt invading somehow.

She already knew that Elena was going to be taking off the V-neck shirt while leaving her crop top on, so she hoped that Caroline wouldn't force her to wear just the bikini top with her shorts. After slipping on the blue shirt, she did feel a bit better and more confident in her look. But other than that, she actually _felt_ sexy.

"That actually looks better." Elena complimented, nodding her head as her sister slipped on the blue top. "And I'm sure that's enough skin to get Caroline off your back." She glanced over at the alarm clock sitting on the bedside table, "Oh, looks like Bonnie will be here any second." After rolling onto one side of the bed, she sprung herself off the mattress and stood on both her feet at the edge of the bed. She turned to Olivia, "Are you sure you don't want a ride?" She asked for probably the seventh time this morning, in the last hour.

"Nah, it's fine." Olivia shook her head, declining the offer once again. "I need to grab something to eat before I leave." She said with actual honesty, just making sure not to mention _what_ that something was. There were three bags of human blood left in the mini fridge under her bed and last night she did have four, but after the knife vs. Elena incident, she couldn't stop herself from chugging a whole one down. She felt disappointed in herself because even though her eating patterns had been rocky ever since her turning, there had been at least a bit of restraint built in - but after last night, it felt like it was mostly all washed away within a matter of moments.

"All right," Elena accepted the answer, beginning to walk out of the room before calling out, "See you there!"

Olivia watched as her sister left out of sight and quickly, she closed the door to provide herself some privacy. And with a deep breath, she headed over to the far side of her bed before making sure no one was walking towards her room. She bent down to peer underneath the bed and opened up the small fridge – grabbing one of the three remained bags. It took more than the usual amount of control but after drinking through half a bag, she stopped, forcing herself not to gobble down the rest to have for later.

She sat down with her legs crossed on the floor, just giving herself a minute before putting away the half-eaten bag back into the fridge. Leaning back, she actually hit her bedside table – and she closed her eyes, readying herself for what could possibly be a very long day. She wasn't able to take her bag with her, so that meant blood in a bottle. The area where her locker is was to be cut off from the rest of the school because of the day. The school was closed for the car wash event in remembranceto Mr. Tanner.

 _Let's hope today goes smoothly…_

…

The next day came around pretty quickly for Stefan when he found himself standing outside his brother's cell, his eyes gazing through the barred door towards the figure curled up against the corner of the room. Damon was still, his head bent towards the wall itself while his arms were wrapped around his stomach – his legs pressed together and crooked. Stefan had been standing there for about five minutes by this time, just thinking to himself. He hated the fact that it had come to this – that he had to take down his own brother from hurting anyone that he was starting to care about in this town – the people Olivia also cared for deeply. He knew it was what had to happen, but a small part of him was regretting his decision.

With a small sigh, he started to turn around, but before he could, he heard an exhaled breath from inside the cell. A voice followed – one of tiredness and force, "I bet you're feeling pretty good about yourself, aren't you?" Damon muttered, his voice barely above audible if it wasn't for the vampire hearing. Stefan turned back around, seeing his brother still hadn't moved a muscle and his eyes were still closed shut.

"Not particularly." Stefan disagreed, shaking his head with a small edge of guilt riddling in them.

A small cough resounded from the desolating vampire's mouth, "You won…" He tried hard to continue, not willing to let this beat him so easily. He's been through worse. "…you got the bad guy, and now you'll continue living a life with Olivia Gilbert with the biggest secret hanging over your head." Finally, he slowly opened his eyes but they dry sweat cracked at the corners. His head rolled towards the direction of where his brother was peering in from, "Are you going to tell her the truth, Stefan?" He questioned, unable to help but lift a small smirk on his lips tiredly, "You know, about why you were attracted to her in the first place?"

"The lies will catch up to you and as long as you keep lying to yourself about what you are, it'll _all_ catch up to you sooner or later."

Honestly, Stefan had no clue on how he was supposed to tell Olivia about that part of Lyla – about the fact that they were literally identical in looks, but thankfully, not personality included. He wanted to wait a while but a part of him knew that it may come back and bite him in the ass. "Well, that's the beauty of you being in there … and me being out here." Stefan retorted, "I don't have to constantly worry that you're going to do something because now it's like you're not even in Mystic Falls anymore." Shaking his head, he began walking away from the cell, leaving his brother to rot in silence next to a dozen poisonous vervain plants.

…

 _ **The Sexy Suds Car Wash – Help Mystic Falls High School!**_

The carwash banner was stationed up high above everyone as cars were brought in to be washed. Each car was being cleaned by either two or three people from the football team, the cheerleaders, or a few good-looking band members, and the one person who wasn't on either of the three but was insisted that she come. Olivia was standing over by the cash table with Caroline, the music blaring in the background while everyone was dressed in things you'd wear to a beach or more likely, a swimming pool.

"No freebies." Caroline gave her best friend a stern look, pointing out the rules again for today's car wash fundraiser – even though Olivia had been partly a helper in making this event happen, to begin with. Caroline was wearing a pair of small shorts and a pink spotted bikini that worked very well on her figure. "And no pay-ya-laters – we are NOT running a charity here."

"Absolutely not." Olivia agreed wholeheartedly. They were making money FOR charity, well, the school really – not the other way around.

Someone suddenly approached the two from behind Olivia, "Hi." Stefan's voice appeared with a small smile on his face. The two girl looked up at him. He was wearing his usual jeans, a dark gray t-shirt and a black hoodie that was definitely NOT in Caroline's eye for sexy. The blonde's eyes narrowed towards him but also to Olivia as a second-hand gesture. It was just now that she realized Olivia was wearing a v-neck long sleeved top. She could see the outlines of that gorgeous blue crop top she bought for her though a while back. That would be perfect and acceptable to wear.

A smile immediately appeared on Olivia's face as she looked towards him, staring up from her seat in front of Caroline. "Hey." She got up from the seat as Stefan took her hand.

As Caroline stood from her own, she cleared her throat like a mother would to her children. Her arms were crossed over her chest and a stern look fluttered in her features. Stefan and Olivia glanced over to her, "The event is called _sexy suds_." She reminded them, dramatically eyeing Stefan's choice of clothing and the v-neck shirt her best friend was wearing. Slowly, she began to back away after giving them one last look – she headed towards her next duty as the planner of the Sexy Suds.

As the blonde walked away, Stefan frowned, "Did we just get scolded?" He wondered out loud.

"Yeah." Olivia let out an amused smile, shaking her head, "And judged, but that's Caroline for you." After seeing Caroline disappear from sight, she turned back to Stefan and now realized what he was actually wearing. He needed to at least take that hoodie off. "Though, she is right." She started, "I guess you'll just have to take this off." Playing with the half-done zipper on his hoodie.

"Ah, well, I don't know." Stefan had a contemplating look on his face, but it was more of a tease because his lip quirked upwards, "I like to think I'm a gentleman, so … ladies first." Waving his arm out as a gesture for her to begin.

Olivia just raised her eyebrows at the last part but didn't lose her grin, "Uh huh." She nodded slowly but wasn't too convinced by his argument, "Well played, Stefan Salvatore." Her fingers gripped the bottom of her cotton shirt before trying to pull it up. While she was doing this, Stefan had taken his zipper all the way down before shrugging the hoodie material off his body. The piece of clothing had just been draped over his forearm when he realized that Olivia was struggling to pull the shirt off her body without ripping it clean with her full strength. He moved in to help by pulling the shirt upwards within tow.

"Urgh," She groaned with a little grumble, her head finally having been pulled through the neck hole. She could already feel that her hair had been messed up. It's a good thing it usually bounced back quickly. "That was so not sexy." She could hear the quiet chuckles from in front of her, even before her eyes returned to the light, "And stop laughing – you know I can hear you." She sent him a loose glare that held no real hold to it. It was more of a daring one.

Stefan cleared his throat, trying to hide his smile but was unsuccessful. His fingers lightly brushed her hair back behind her ears. "Oh, I know." He nodded, "And I disagree – you are very sexy." His hands were softly holding the sides of her face as they leaned closer.

Olivia felt her cheeks lightly flame up and the compliment immediately made her undead heart speed. It happened more so as their lips touched. She completely forgot about the fact that there were A LOT of people around them. It's like they didn't even register on her radar and the one person on it was Stefan.

…

"Who are you … and what have you done with my sister Olivia Gilbert." A voice appeared next to Olivia as she started scrubbing against the windows of the car she was working on. It was a black Mazda 3 with a few dents in the side. Elena leaned against a dry part of the car further down towards the bonnet, her head turned towards her sister while her arms were crossed against her chest. She had a mild look of surprise on her face but there was a fascination with it.

Olivia glanced over to her a little confused, "What are you talking about?" Hoping this had nothing to do with last night. A part of her started to riddle with fear before she could stop it. Although, the subject should have come up this morning if any kind of conversation like that should happen. Stefan wasn't currently with them but was getting another bowl of warm water and soap prepared. There was only a fraction of water left in the bucket by her feet.

"You and Stefan." Elena prompted, gesturing over to the table where she vaguely watched her sister kiss in public. That's sort of _her_ thing and it's never happened to Olivia before. She was curious. "The kissing in public, doing things you never used to usually do – I guess I'm just … surprised. Stefan's really doing a number on you." Not that she disapproved of that, of course. If anything, she's hoping it'll continue.

A little internal breath sighed with relief. "Yeah … I guess he is." Olivia smiled to herself, continuing to scrub, now bending down a little to clean part of the underside.

Elena nodded to herself. She was about to leave until a glint of sunlight hit a ring around her sister's finger. The one she's been wearing non-stop since Chicago if she remembered correctly. "Did you want me to put that in my bag?" She asked out loud with her own finger pointing towards the hand the piece of jewelry was on. Her eyebrows creased, wondering why her sister would wear jewelry like that to an event like this. If she's not careful, it could get damaged and from the looks of it, the ring was very pretty. Come to think of it – she remembered seeing that very same and exact blue stone in both Damon and Stefan's rings. It's probably just a coincidence, though. "It could be prone to rust."

Olivia felt herself pause and her heart momentarily stop when she realized her sister was talking about the ring around her finger. "O-Oh no, it's fine." She waved the offer off with a small ounce of nervousness in her tone – one that she was trying to hide while giving Elena a small smile in gratitude, "Thank you, though." There was no way she could let her sister do that. It's _literally_ the only thing keeping her from burning alive in this heated sun blasting from above.

A small frown started to appear on Elena's lips but she accepted the answer anyway, not going to push the matter further. "Okay," She nodded with an ounce of confusion, retracting her hand back to her side before starting to back away. Stefan was also coming back over from what she could see over to the side, "I'll leave you guys to it."

Olivia kept scrubbing and keeping her head down but did keep her hearing dialed out enough so she could hear her sister walk away. It wasn't until Stefan's voice cut through the air from beside her that she snapped back to what she was really doing, "Alright, I have a new bucket of soap and water." He announced, placing the blue bucket filled to the brim next to the front of the car. Stefan looked up at her as he placed it on the ground, "You okay?" He asked with concern, noticing a certain look form on his girlfriend's face.

"Uh, yeah, kind of," Olivia replied without a straight answer, her head glancing towards the direction her sister went. In return, she received the kind of face that was interested to hear a more elaborate explanation. A small sigh left her lips as she took a step back from the car – bending down to the new bucket in order to rinse out the sponge in her hand. She glanced over to him as he was still kneeling on the ground next to the bucket, "Elena just offered to put my ring in her bag." He already knew the importance of that particular ring. "I could tell there was something else on her mind as well, though."

"What do you think it is?" Stefan questioned, grabbing the sponge he left in the old bucket and dunked it in with the new water. Olivia stood up and returned to scrubbing the car just as he did the same. They stood closer together to make sure they could speak without anyone overhearing. Luckily, no one was particularly close to them anyway.

Olivia paused but subtly bit her lip as she began to think towards what happened last night in the kitchen. "It could be a lot of things." She said with honesty. "And honestly, it seems like every day I accidently give her something extra to be suspicious about and one day … an excuse just won't be enough." There's a lot of things that can be counted towards that – the ring and last night's fiasco are just two of the newer examples.

And as they talked; Elena was on the other side of the parking lot with narrowed eyes towards the pair – she had her arms crossed over her chest, a thoughtful look on her face. She felt a push in her gut to find out the truth of what her sister seemed to be hiding – and she was determined to find out what.

…

Elena sighed as she walked over to the cash desk where Caroline Forbes sat. She approached the blonde from behind with her hands shoved into her back pockets. "Hey," She made her presence known, "We're out of towels and those shimmy things." She sat down in the second plastic seat opposite her.

Caroline looked up and for a second and her brain caught up to what was being asked of her. "Okay," She nodded, Elena's words catching up to her thought patterns. "I'll go get some more." Shuffling the dozens of bills in her hands before passing them over to the brunette. "Just mind the money and I'll be back in a second."

…

"Alright, that'll be $20," Elena told a customer about ten minutes later, opening the gray metal cash box to grab change in a second. As the man in front had come forwards, she hadn't known who she had initially been talking to, however, when she did gaze up, her eyes took a second take. She recognized this man. He was the dark-skinned man that was probably in his sixties or seventies from yesterday. This was the same man she heard speaking to Stefan in the grocery store. Elena didn't even realize she had been staring until the $20 she asked for appeared in front of her. "I saw you last night." She suddenly blurted out after receiving the cash.

The elderly man looked towards her with confusion, wondering what she was talking about. He was sure they had never encountered each other before today.

"You were talking to a friend of mine at the grocery store yesterday." Elena clarified, seeing the bewildered look. "A guy just a bit taller than I am, seventeen, short brown hair with dark green eyes."

A light of recognition sparked in the man's eye because there was only one person that fit the description, "Well, I-I thought it was somebody else." He started to say, his mind drifting back to yesterday afternoon.

Elena unconsciously leaned forwards in her chair with an interesting sense in her features, "Stefan Salvatore?"

"Nah, it can't be." He shook his head in denial, "It's just in my mind playing tricks on me." He had this small demeanor of shame – it was as if his memory hadn't been too right for a while now and he felt guilty about it.

Elena didn't want to push, but something inside of her was just itching to know more. "If you don't mind me asking - where do you think you'd seen him before?"

The elderly man didn't seem to mind speaking about it, "When I first moved here." His mind started to looking back to the past - of that he could remember anyway. "I stayed at the Salvatore Boarding House."

"Oh," Elena's eyebrows furrowed – when was this? She's been living in this town all her life and basically seen every corner of it. As far as she knew, no one ever, apart from Zach, had been staying at the Boarding House. So, how can this man remember Stefan when he was just a small child when she couldn't? If what Stefan was saying on his first day was true.

And from the way the man continued speaking, it got even more confusing.

"Stefan was just passing through to visit his Uncle," He continued, "I mean, none of us even knew he was here until the attack."

"The attack?"

"His Uncle got killed." The man clarified. "Mauled in the woods by an animal."

Elena was momentarily lost for words because as far as she knew, Zach Salvatore was still alive. She even saw him the other day visiting the Grill to see the Sheriff. "His Uncle … Zach?"

"Mm-mmm." He shook his head in response, humming a _No_ , "Joseph."

 _Joseph?_ Elena thought to herself, her head suddenly feeling heavy on her shoulders. None of this was making any sense to her – she didn't know anyone named Joseph Salvatore growing up in Mystic Falls, and she was sure Olivia hadn't either. "I-I'm sorry, Sir." Her voice stuttered slightly. She was trying to wrap her head around all the confusing data she was being told. "I don't think I'm familiar with a Joseph Salvatore, or this story."

The man just gave her a small look with a light smile, "Oh, how could you?" He responded with a small chuckle of amusement, "I mean, this happened many years ago and well before your time."

Suddenly, Tiki, one of the other cheerleaders appeared from behind Elena and looked to the man with concern. "Grandpa, you gotta go." She started saying with an exasperated tone starting to mix in, "Mom wants you home." This man was Tiki's grandfather by the sounds of it. The man sighed and obviously understood – he started turning away from the table before beginning to walk back towards his car.

Tiki watched her Grandfather start walking away before looking down to Elena who still sat at the table, "He wasn't bugging you, was he?" She asked, looking apologetic this time now that her Grandfather was away from hearing distance. "He's a little alzy-heimers." Using a slight hand gesture to go with her words.

"Uh, no," Elena replied after a second as she quickly got up from her chair, "He was sweet." Without another word to the cheerleader, she started jogging towards the man that was walking away. More questions needed to be answered and they were bubbling beneath the surface. Quickly moving in front of the man to stop him from walking, she began talking again, "I'm sorry, but, are you sure that the man that you saw and that you knew – his name was _Stefan Salvatore?_ " She hated being one of those people who bothered others with questions – but this was really important. She couldn't help but feel that something wrong was beginning to surface and a sudden worry churned for the sister she was trying to hook Stefan up with. She swallowed hard, hoping her mind was just reaching out to something that simply didn't exist.

That man was obviously beginning to become confused as to why this girl was asking him so many questions on this subject, especially from a time that was all but nearly forgotten – but didn't mind speaking about it anyway. "Yes." He nodded, sure of his answer, "I remember that ring of his … and his brother."

"Damon?" The name just flew out of Elena's lips before she could stop it. The name of the brother she's been basically lusting after since she realized he existed. That smirking face flashed before her eyes before it was blinked away back to reality.

"Yeah," He confirmed with a shallow nod of his head, "Stefan and Damon Salvatore."

Elena felt stupid for even asking this, "When was this?"

"It was early June, 1953."

…

Elena didn't really know where her feet were taking her but decided to trust them instead. Eventually, she found herself approaching her Aunt Jenna, the ginger woman who was sitting on a picnic bench with one leg hanging over the other. The woman was stealing glances towards the TV station van parked just a few meters away from where she sat. The reason why Jenna was sitting there hadn't clicked for Elena until she saw a particular someone peek into view.

"You know," Elena started, not being able to help the small teasing grin from lifting against her lips, "Your car was done over an hour ago." She knew full well that her Aunt actually knew that, it was just nice to see her happy for once after everything the entire family has been through.

Aunt Jenna nearly audibly groaned because her niece had said that pretty loud, and a certain someone wasn't too far away. "You're saying that out loud why?" She hissed quietly, rising to her feet to turn towards the teasing voice. Elena had spoken from behind.

Logan Fell's head rose from what he was doing and upon seeing Elena next to Jenna, he decided to join the two girls. "Hi." He grinned with a sneaky little smirk peeking in after having heard what the teenager had said, "Elena right? I think I met you once when you were nine, your sister too." He reached over to shake her hand politely, a gesture that was curiously returned.

"Oh…" Elena could honestly say she didn't remember that, but then again, she didn't remember much from before the age of ten … unless it was a big event for her.

Jenna grew a small sarcastic smile on her lips, "Ah, yes, I believe your emotional maturity level was that age too." She quipped, still feeling a little stung by a betrayal even though many years had gone by now. The man had literally run her out of town so there was still a cold, sore spot still left in her heart.

"Ouch." Logan looked hurt as he placed a palm against his chest, his head turned towards his ex. He could tell that there wasn't as much of a bite behind it as before, and that was something to be happy about. He could see that familiar grin pinching at her cheeks even though she was trying her hardest to hide it. "And here I thought we were making progress." He countered back, a little near-matching grin appearing on his own lips.

Elena actually enjoyed watching the exchange but then it was as if a little switch flipped in her head. The elderly man's words were coming back to her and her feet's thought process suddenly all made sense. She turned towards her Aunt, looking a little hesitant but determined at the same time. "Is he enough in your good graces that I can ask him for a favor?" Her eyes flicked over to the man in question.

A little lightbulb flashed with a light inside Logan's head.

The eager man turned to the red-headed beauty, "If I do her a favor, will I get back in your good graces?" Hoping for a yes, but knew at the same time it wouldn't be a full one.

Jenna let out a hum in confliction, not willing to say yes, but not willing to say no at the same time. She briefly bit her lip in thought, "Uh, a _very_ reluctant maybe to both." Her eyes flicked between the two standing in front of her. A massive part of her was screaming at her to say yes because deep down, she still had some pretty big feelings for Logan. But when she starts looking back on their past, that _woman_ and the way she found out about the affair kept overpowering those blissful thoughts. She just … didn't want to risk getting hurt again. She didn't even know if her heart could handle another pounding like that again.

"Done." Logan was willing to work with that. "Wait." He paused, twisting back to her once more, "One condition." He straightened his back before asking, "Dinner, tonight, your house."

Elena's eyebrows raised in surprise but there was a sneaky grin on her lips. Jenna was partly lost for words, but after a few seconds, they returned to her within a reply. "Fine." She accepted the terms but wasn't going to play _completely_ nice into his hands. She still needed to put on that hard persona she's been driving with since seeing the guy again at the Founder's Party. "But you're eating leftovers."

"Ooh." Logan loved the playfulness of this conversation. After making a small chuckle, he finally turned to the girl who was asking a favor from him, the one that was getting him a dinner in the Gilbert household tonight. "What is it you need?"

Elena got right down to business. "Do you have access to old news stories? From let's say, the fifties?" She questioned, hoping her thoughts were right and that they would have. It would be a little stupid if they didn't have a record of everything that's been on the air since the TV was invented. Although, it's been a while since newscasts were starting to appear on the screen.

"Yeah, at the station." Logan nodded, knowing just how much coverage they had backed up. "Between the achieves and the internet, we pretty much have everything."

Elena hated lying but knew it was the only way to go right now. "I have this report that's _way_ past due." She lied right through her teeth, "And you'd be a life saver right now."

"I'm heading over there right now." He told her, seeing no harm in letting her surf through old news records for a bit, especially now that he can complete a needed task tonight and with little harm and fuss. He gestured his head to the van, "Let's go." He stole one last glance of Jenna before starting to head over to the driver's side of the vehicle.

Before Elena went to follow him, she turned towards her Aunt with a request, "If anyone asks, you don't know where I went. I don't want Caroline or Liv knowing I left before the end."

"Sure," Jenna nodded, frowning a little when Elena added her sister name into the sentence. She knew Olivia wouldn't be mad or upset that she left but stayed quiet as one of her nieces started walking towards the van, leaving with the guy who broke her heart and was slowly stealing it all over again.

…

Caroline didn't really understand what was happening but all she could hear was a small familiar voice calling out her name. It echoed within her head like it was an empty room with bouncing walls. _"Caroline…"_ Before she knew it, somehow her feet had walked her all the way over to the Salvatore Boarding House, and the voice just kept getting louder. It was calling to her, enticing her. _"Caroline…"_

It was only a couple of minutes later that her feet entered past the doorway and the door was left hanging open behind her.

…

" _Sweeper duty."_ A voice jolted Bonnie out of the boredom surrounding her while her body was casually leaning against the bonnet of a truck. She glanced up to see Tiki, the girl that was actually more annoying that Caroline, standing there in front of her, holding a long brush broom.

Bonnie thought she had misheard, "What?" She raised an eyebrow, wondering if she had heard right. Her eyes flickered over to the broom with a small amount of disdain in her eyes.

"We have to clean the pavement." Tiki clarified further, confirming what Bonnie had been hearing previously.

"It's a car wash." Bonnie retorted slowly, almost as if she were talking to a small child. "By definition, the pavement's already _clean_."

"But not dry." The other girl countered with an annoying amount of smugness leaking into her tone. Bonnie's eyes narrowed with annoyance, her teeth gritting together ever so slightly.

"Any _I'm_ doing this … why?'

"Caroline bailed." Tiki rolled her eyes, not really liking the blonde but not hating her at the same time. She loved the fact that she was technically in charge right now, though. She didn't see Olivia or Elena around right now either. "So that leaves ME in charge."

Bonnie barely held her tongue as the broom was shoved into her hands. Tiki pranced away with a satisfied smile on her lips and her shoulders were held high and mighty. Bonnie's eyes were still narrowed as her head turned away from the retreating figure. Suddenly, her gaze hit something else and a slowly building … pressure … started to rise up from within her. There was a small puddle of water just a couple of feet away and her line of sight never wavered for even a second.

Little whiffs of steam began rising from the puddle and they grew bigger as the seconds drew on.

No one knew what was happening but out of nowhere, a blaze of fire ignited out of nothing, apart from the thin trail of water that led towards a single blue car sitting by itself in the parking lot. Bonnie stood there at the beginning of the tiny stream, her gaze never wavering for even the slightest of seconds. It was almost as if she were trapped in a small world in that head of hers. Her face appeared blank but in actual fact, she didn't even know what was happening, let alone what to think right now.

It wasn't until she was suddenly being shaken that Bonnie started to come out of her daydream and reality began setting in again. " _Bonnie! Bonnie!"_ A voice was calling over and over again. She blinked once, and then again. The fire quickly started to die down and people all around the parking lot just looked around in confusion, unsure of what had just happened before their eyes. Bonnie felt herself being turned around and she was met with an unexpected face. Stefan Salvatore.

"What just happened?" Bonnie had fully snapped out of it and now she was just as bewildered as the rest of the teenagers surrounding the now wrecked car.

Stefan didn't want to point out what he really knew, so decided to play partially dumb, "You, uh, were in some kind of trance." He replied, looking over Bonnie's shoulder to the site left behind from the previously fiery actions. He slowly took his hands off her shoulders as she peered over her own shoulder.

Bonnie started shaking her head after a few seconds of thought, "Did I do this?" She breathed to herself, but the question was also indirectly pointed towards Stefan at the same time. She didn't really expect him to know the answer but it just came out.

Stefan pretended to look confused. It wouldn't help anyone if he came out straight and told her he knew she could definitely be a true witch. That was something for her grams to discuss with her. "I think so, yeah." He glanced over Bonnie's shoulder to see Olivia standing within the crowd with another bucket of water hanging from her hand. He knew she could hear everything he was saying and he knew there was going to be a little explaining he'll have to do. Maybe not all of it, but at least some of what was running through his mind right now.

A flash of fear appeared in Bonnie's eyes. "Nobody else saw, did they?" She was internally frightened and trying her best to cover it up.

Stefan shook his head, not having actually looked but everyone apart from him and Olivia were humans. They wouldn't really know what to believe even if they did. It also couldn't be straightly pointed towards Bonnie anyway.

"Don't tell anybody." Bonnie begged, "Please." After receiving a small nod, she started backing up and hurriedly walking away – she had a massive urge to get away from this place, and there was only one person in particular that she wanted to see at that moment.

…

Logan showed Elena into the final room down the hall. "We digitalised all our archives last year." He explained, letting the teenager walk through the doorway first before he entered in from behind. "You can pull all the remote footage right up on the screen." He glanced over to her as she took a seat in the chair, "What is it exactly you're looking for?" He wondered curiously, watching her adjust her position in front of the dual computer screens.

"An incident from 1953," Elena replied, shrugging off the shoulder bag that she actually remembered to grab before leaving. She didn't think she'd be back at the car wash again for a while, or even before it finishes. "If it even happened that is – at the old Salvatore Boarding House."

The phone in Logan's pocket started to ring, cutting into the conversation. "I'm sorry," He apologized before reaching into his pocket, retrieving the device before pressing the answer button. "Yeah?" He spoke into the receiver and in return, he heard the voice of his cameraman speaking through to him.

Elena waited patiently for him to finish the call and it only lasted for a brief number of seconds.

"I gotta go. There's a fire I have to cover." Was the first thing that came out of Logan's mouth the minute he ended the call. He looked back over to Elena, "All right," He began, about to quickly do the run-through of how to work the system the Station had set up. "All you have to do is use keywords to search the database and after that, it's pretty easy to navigate." He pointed towards a direction down the hall, "And Brady down in tech will help you out if you need anything."

"Okay." Elena nodded, that sounded pretty easy to work through.

Logan was about to leave her to her own devices but couldn't help but ask just one thing. "Hey, um," Elena glanced over to him again, "Could you, just maybe, put in a good word for me with Jenna?" He asked, looking just a _tad_ bit desperate. Not that Elena would verbally point that out right now. But, to be honest, she really liked this guy and how much he was pushing to make things right with her Aunt.

"You got it." Elena promised.

"That's great," Logan's face instantly brightened up and he promptly left the room. "Good luck!" He called back to her before leaving out of sight.

Once Elena realized she was finally alone with the system, she let out a breath, now hoping to find proof of something she hoped wasn't true. Because if it was true, then she must be going completely nuts at what the possible explanations could be. Her fingers started typing on the keyboard.

' _Joseph Salvatore + Animal Attack'_ was the first and only thing she put into the search engine. After a few moments of searching and loading - a single result popped up on the screen.

 **Match (1)**

 **Name:** Joseph Salvatore.

 **Date:** June 12th, 1953.

 **Search Terms:** Animal Attack

Elena's finger hesitated for a second before she actually clicked the result for a further inquiry. An old video replaced the solid blue screen. The picture quality was awful combined with the black and white film, but despite that, it was actually pretty clear for an old video recording. She didn't pause it for a second and just let it roll.

" _This is Franklin Fell reporting to you from the Salvatore Boarding House, where a brutal animal attack has ended in tragedy."_ The news reporter and Logan's ancestor spoke. The video started showing a body in a white bag being wheeled out of the old Boarding House with what looked to be cops either side. " _Ok, they're bringing out the bodies. See if you can get closer."_ Elena's face drew closer to the screen, her curiosity peaking at its highest. The camera zoomed in closer to the body bag.

" _Hold on, is that the nephew?"_ Franklin Fell wondered out loud just as the camera was facing back towards him. He gestured to the man behind the camera to point towards a specific spot over to the side, and the command was followed. As soon as the picture hit this nephews face, Elena's paused it, unable to believe what she was seeing. Her throat suddenly clenched painfully and her heart stopped. _This can't be real_ , she thought. Her head was unconsciously shaking from side to side, her eyes never leaving the sight before her stationed on the screen.

She didn't know how, but standing there in fifties clothing and everything else, was none other than Stefan Salvatore. The new student who had recently moved to Mystic Falls to live with his Uncle, but more importantly, the person her own twin sister was currently dating. The couple she had actually helped try and get together in the first place with Caroline and Bonnie's help.

" _Oh, my god…"_ She barely gasped. Unless the person on the screen was some kind of double then who she was seeing on the screen was impossible. This person looked EXACTLY like Stefan, in every form by the looks of it.

But how …?

…

"Neither Elena or Caroline are answering still." Olivia murmured with a pinch of worry, taking the mobile away from her ear again. It's been hours since she's seen either of them and somehow, they had left during the middle of the car wash – and that was so unlike both of them. Especially for Caroline. It's been about an hour since everything had finally been cleared up at the school and it was quite understandable to be worried.

She and Stefan were currently walking up the roadway to the Salvatore Boarding House hand-in-hand. They actually had a Math test in a couple of days so instead of spending the rest of the day doing nothing, they decided to revise together. Well, in reality, Stefan was actually going to tutor Olivia.

"I'm sure they're both fine." Stefan tried to assure her, but something wasn't sitting well with him even before he said that. It was a bad feeling – and it started getting worse every step they took further to the Boarding House. Just as they reached the outside of the building, he suddenly halted in his spot, seeing something extremely unnerving and it wasn't just that, there was silence. There was nothing – not even a tweet from a nearby bird. He couldn't even hear anything coming from inside the house – not even a whisper or a breath.

Olivia was pulled to a stop at the same time but didn't realize what Stefan was hearing, or rather, what he _wasn't_ hearing at the same time he did.

Her brow furrowed in confusion, "What's wrong?" She noticed a passive look on her boyfriend's face as well as the fact that he was staring at something. Turning, she then noticed just what he had done. Her eyes widened with something between fear and shock, she just couldn't quite tell which. There was a dead and bloodied crow lying by the front door – one that was left jarred open.

Stefan let go of Olivia's hand before he started running towards the entrance, racing through the barrier that would keep uninvited vampires from stepping in. "Zach!" He started to yell. The sky was pitch black and he knew for a fact that the human decedent should be back already. But there was still no noise to his call. "Zach!" He already knew where to go and he just prayed the voice in his head was telling him wrong.

Outside, Olivia was still standing in her place and for once, it wasn't because of the blood slowly pouring out of the poor bird's body. No. It was because something deep inside knew what could have happened. She felt it, a shift in the air. The silence now hit her and it was deafening. Her gut feeling was confirmed when her extended hearing picked up Stefan's low plea's for Zach and they were pained. She couldn't hear a heartbeat of a single person, and that meant only one thing.

A shaky hand raised to her face, covering her mouth with a small gasp leaving her lips and a wash of sorrow flooded her veins. Sucking in a breath and with her eyes starting to water, she began walking into the Boarding House, preparing herself for what she was about to find…

…

" _ **Dear Diary … I'm not a believer."**_

"Olivia!" Elena burst into her sister's room, expecting to find her twin there after the car wash had finished. Her phone wasn't getting any signal so she couldn't use it right now to get a hold of her. She was breathing hard because she had practically run all the way from the spending hours at the Grill, just … thinking. And through all that, there were only a few conclusions she could gather from her thoughts and, to be honest, they were all crazy. Only one of them sounded at least a bit more probable at this point in time.

" _ **People are born, they grow old, and then they die."**_

" _ **That's the world we live in."**_

Elena was about to walk out of her sister's room but a sudden small hum suddenly hit her hearing. Her eyebrows furrowed as her body twisted back around, turning herself back towards the bed area. It sounded like it came from _underneath_ the piece of bedroom furniture. _Huummmm._ There it was again. Elena closed the bedroom door without looking at it behind her. That sound … it sounded like a fridge, but it couldn't be?

Elena couldn't stop herself from taking cautious steps forwards and as she reached the far side of the bed, right by the window, she slowly bent down towards the ground. "What the…?" Her hearing had been correct. Underneath the bed was one of those small miniature fridges. Why would Olivia have a fridge in her room? She didn't even bring canned drinks home regularly enough to want to have them in her room. She usually stuck to water or just having glasses of whatever was in the fridge.

Elena's curiosity got the better of her again and she started reaching for the small handle attached to the fridge.

She had been expecting to find some cans of soda, maybe even a few secret bottles of beers that she didn't know about, but what she saw instead suddenly made her want to heave. Elena was frozen, part of her wanted to actually faint but another just kept blinking to see if what she was seeing, was actually there. "No." Her head shook. She didn't believe this. She started crawling backward and away from the area until her back hit the window seat from behind.

There were blood bags being refrigerated in there, one of them only half full.

" _ **There's no magic, no mysticism, no immortality."**_

" _ **There is nothing that defies rational thought."**_

Flashes of the past started to click in place as the brunette fearfully stared at the number of blood bags in the open refrigerator. The crazy theories she had thought of at the Grill were coming back at her like a storm.

" _ **People are supposed to be who they say they are, and not lie or hide their true selves. It's not possible. I'm not a believer … I can't be."**_

" _ **But how can I deny what's right in front of me?"**_

Elena shakenly stood up from the ground before looking at herself through her sister's mirror. Suddenly, part of it all made entire sense, but at the same time, it didn't. Olivia's been different ever since … Chicago. She hardly ever speaks to her anymore and honestly, it's as if secrets have been hidden from her the entire time. Olivia was distant, even now after some progress. She's changed. Whatever happened in Chicago changed her. That place changed the twin sister she knew, the twin sister she grew up and shared everything with.

This isn't possible … but how can it be?

She had to be wrong about this!

" _ **Someone who never grows old..."**_

The image of Stefan in that 1953 video footage shook her to the core. The name from the Founders Party guest registry accompanied that too.

" _ **Never gets hurt…"**_

Her bottom lip trembled as the memory of the last game Tanner was last seen alive at came back to her. She was a hundred percent certain Jeremy had cut through Olivia's hand but seconds later it was like the wound never existed. There had clearly been blood and a deep gash and now thinking about it, Olivia looked nervous at the time. Stefan had been shielding her too. Those two had been talking to each other about things that Olivia simply wouldn't share with her. Damon's warning too – but now – did this include him as well?

" _ **Someone who changes in ways that can't be explained…"**_

Yesterday night … the face of her twin sister with the darkened dripping veins flashed before her. Those devil-like eyes, that _face_ …

What she saw with Stefan was all but wiped from her mind and guiltily, she couldn't drive herself away from her own sister. She was pointing all of this towards her … own … sister. God, what did that make her?

" _ **Girl's bitten … bodies drained of blood."**_

Tanner. Vicki. Matt said his sister muttered _vampire_ before passing out. That bite mark on her neck, the two puncture wounds stabbed into the skin like a tiny pitchfork around the veins. There were all those people around town that had been killed by 'animal attacks' too.

 _No…_

" _ **This can't be real."**_

…

Damon was gone, and judging by how cold Zach's body was, it was probably around the time of the car wash that he managed to escape. Olivia didn't know what to do, other than to sit with Stefan as he held Zach to his chest, probably blaming himself for the death of the last living Salvatore relative he had left. Zach's neck had been snapped – a quick death. Olivia knew that. It was one of the only things she could remember about how she was changed. Someone had come up from behind, shoved their wrist into her mouth before the lights went out.

Then, she woke up in hell, or what she had deemed as hell at the time.

"I'm gonna kill him." Stefan suddenly declared after having stared at the body in his arms for several silent minutes. He started to carefully place his descendant onto the ground and out of his arms. "I'm gonna kill Damon." Olivia's hand slipped from his arm as he got up onto his feet. He started walking towards the basement door and up the stairs before the pace picked up.

The words of what Stefan had actually said finally hit Olivia.

"Stefan, wait!" She called, rushing to get up and follow his quick footsteps. She even had to use a bit of her vampire speed to try and catch up with him. He couldn't kill Damon. Not that she wouldn't love to see him forever out of Mystic Falls, but this wasn't herself she was thinking about, it was Stefan. A sibling bond is everything and no matter how much damage Damon could do, she knew there was still a part of Stefan that still cared and hoped for his brother. She went with the plan to bring Damon down the first time because he would be 'frozen' as such and he wouldn't literally be dead. She honestly didn't know what would happen if Stefan killed his own brother. There was a special bond between them, she could see that. Or at least, there used to be before Katherine and Lyla came along and ruined it.

Stefan had already dug a steak out of an old wooden box before Olivia caught up with him running down the hallway of the Boarding House. She had to use her vampire speed, this time, to finally catch up with him, "Stefan, I said w-!" Both her voice and movements halted within a fraction of a second when she noticed something that shook her to the core.

The front door was wide open and Stefan was looking out of it, but someone else was standing there on the doorstep. And that someone was now staring at _her_ with wide and horrified eyes. This person had just seen her speeding at vampire speed, and not only that, the look in their eyes was full of conflict and fear.

"Lena…"

 **X_X_X_X**

 **Oh, my goodness I am SO sorry about the lack of updates with ANY stories over the last month or two. A lot has basically happened including; having laser eye surgery, getting a full-time overnight stocking job, doing countless other things and … yeah …**

 **I'm gonna try and start updating once-twice a week to start with, and this isn't for a specific fanfic. I'm gonna bounce between Dawn of a New Day and Shattering Relations for now.**

 **Anyways, I hope you guys loved it and be sure to leave some comments for me to read! I love reading them!**

 **Fav, Follow, and Review!**


	19. 6-1 Mystery uncovered

**For those who don't read my personal message updates on Wattpad or Quotev, there has been a reason why I disappeared from all my stories lately. A family member had to be put to sleep, my best friend, my puppy. I had no feeling in wanting to continue stories but some of it is coming back to me, and that's why I'm giving you guys an update today. Updates will never really be regular but I do try, just please be patient.**

 **Thank you so much for all the messages I received when I put up my hiatus note, they all meant so much to me!**

 **Let me know what you think about this chapter because I LOVE reviews and they always make my day!**

 **Dawn of a New Day has reached 500 Favs/Follows on Quotev – ahh! Thank you so much, guys! You're the reasons why I keep writing as much as I can!**

 **Vampire Diaries Fanfic | Dawn of a New Day | Lost Girls – Part 1**

Olivia didn't know what to do, much less what to say. She just stood there, less than a meter away from the threshold with the look of something between shock and horror leaking into her features. She blinked, and then blinked again but still, her sister was standing right in front of her, staring at her with such …

She couldn't even describe what vibes she was receiving from her.

The air was filled with a tense silence and no one knew what to say.

That is until Elena finally started opening her mouth to talk.

"What are you?" The human brunette breathed, her eyes still widened at what she had just witnessed her sister do. Her heart pounded against her chest like a band of drum beats, but her voice sounded more confident than what she felt inside. When she received no answer, only a pair of unknown stares, she started to get a little angry. Her head was completely turned towards her sister, basically ignoring Stefan's actual presence. She repeated her words, putting more force into them this time but there was an undeniable crack in it, " _What_ are you?"

Of course, she already knew the answer … deep down. But she wanted someone to just tell her she was crazy, that this was all just some ridiculous dream and that she'd wake up any second now.

Olivia's mouth kept opening and then closing again, almost as if she were imitating an out-of-water fish. She continued to stare at her sister for a few extra moments because she knew – Olivia was aware that her sister knew what she was just by witnessing the fear riddling in her eyes. This, right now, would just be an inevitable confirmation of the fact.

"You've already guessed it, Elena." She finally spoke, her words sad and heartbreaking to her ears. This was part of the reason why she was afraid to tell Elena, or anyone, for that matter. There was fearfulness in her sister's eyes and they flamed even further the moment her sentence finished. "You already know."

Elena shook her head as her body began to shiver, "No, I don't." She denied, unconsciously taking a step back from the vampires in front of her.

Olivia felt tears prickle at the corners of her eyes, "Yes, you do." She countered, "Otherwise you wouldn't be here asking that question." She took small steps forwards so that she was in front of Stefan but this just made Elena take another step back. The young vampire felt a sting in her heart from the action.

Elena felt her own eyes welling up, "No, it's NOT possible." She pushed again, not able to believe the insaneness of the idea that her sister – her own _twin sister_ was a blood sucking monster. "It _can't_ be." Vampires were bloodsucking fiends, they were demons.

Olivia knew there was no getting around this anymore – _no more lies_. There was only the truth left because there is no way was she going to erase her sister's memory of this knowledge, she couldn't do it, and there's no way she was letting anyone else do it either. "Lena-" She was cut off by her sister's snap.

"Don't call me that!" The words were automatic as a tear rolled down the side of Elena's cheek, "You have _no_ right." She choked harshly, and this time, the crack in her voice was evident.

Olivia couldn't help but flinch at the grating tone of her sister's words but tried to not let it get to her. This is her own fault after all. She continued from before she was interrupted, "Everything you know and every belief that you have ever had is about to change." She paused, "Are you ready for that?"

Elena swallowed deep but her breathing stayed heavy, "What ... are you?" She repeated for the final time, trying to keep her composure.

Olivia could feel Stefan shift next to her, and his hand slips into hers. She felt a small amount of comfort but there would never be enough to make her feel any better about what she was about to announce. After taking a deep unneeded breath, she finally revealed her darkest secret to someone she loved.

"I'm a vampire, Elena."

The air grew still and silence echoed throughout the air.

Elena's heart started speeding up. Letting out a stuttering breath, another tear rolled down the side of her cheek, "I-I shouldn't have come over." She stuttered, feeling the urge to run away. All she could see standing in front of her was her sister, but it wasn't at the same time. She was afraid of her own sister and Stefan who was still standing there in the doorway. Elena hadn't even realized it but her feet were stumbling back from the door more noticeably now.

"No, wait-" Olivia started saying, moving forwards to stop her sister from moving away but all that did was make the human panic even more. Elena dodged her and quickly brushed passed, avoiding all contact what-so-ever. Olivia hated to think it, but she needed to calm her sister down before something regrettable happened. She couldn't allow her sister to talk to anyone of importance that may know, or believe in the existence of vampires. It would mean a death sentence for not only her but Stefan and Damon as well.

Elena had almost made it to her car before a whooshing sound fluttered through the air and a sudden sight before her eyes made her stumble back in fright. A gasp left her parted lips, her heart momentarily stopping inside her chest.

"How did you do that?" Elena demanded, physically scared of the person standing in front of her after coming out of nowhere. Her sister. Olivia was standing there, a desperate look on her face. Elena looked behind her to see only Stefan standing by the door now, just watching. It's almost as though he had no idea what to do and all he could do was watch the event unfold.

"Elena, please, don't be afraid of me," Olivia begged, but knew it was no use deep inside, especially after having sped in front of her just like that. This was the second time her sister had seen her use the ability in front of her.

"Let me go." There was a moment of silence where the two just stared at each other. Elena started slowly moving around her sister, cautiously heading towards the car inch by inch. Olivia just stood there, unsure what to do but knew it wouldn't do any good to keep trying to stop Elena from running at this moment. If she tried to stop Elena again, things would backfire just as it had done when she sped in front of her. She didn't want to scare her sister away anymore, so she stopped herself from making Elena stay, for now.

She could only watch as the brunette quickly climbed into the vehicle, strapping on the seat belt even faster as if she were being chased by a monster. After turning on the engine, she sped away with tires squealing. The car was out of sight within a matter of seconds.

Olivia felt Stefan coming up beside her when her eyes filled with ushered tears. She knew what had to be done and it had to be sooner rather than later. Elena needed to know _everything_. Every little detail.

"Liv, she can't tell anyone about what we are." He cautioned his girlfriend but knew she had already thought about it already. "The town can't know that vampires are back in Mystic Falls." He knew she would never compel someone unless she had to, especially someone from her own family, but Elena did need to know the risks involved with knowing this information and what could happen if anything got out.

Olivia felt herself nodding but it was numb at the same time, "I know." She said softly, still looking in the direction of where the car drove away, "I-I just-" She couldn't seem to form words, part of her unable to really grasp what had just happened. What would Elena do? Would she really tell the people of this town that her sister was a vampire? Would she keep the secret? And even if she did keep it, what would happen to their relationship? What would happen to their sisterly bond? She could almost picture the disgusted looks and distant remarks that may end their sisterly bond.

"Hey," Stefan moved in front of her, taking her face into his hands, drawing small comforting circles at the base of her cheeks. He was doing what he did best, keeping her grounded and focused. "Everything's going to be okay." He told her, and even though he wasn't sure deep down if it was true, his words sure sounding confident. "She's your sister, your twin." He reminded her, "Even if she doesn't accept it right away, she will do, in time. It's just a lot to take in all at one time."

Olivia did feel a little bit better, but she understood what he was also saying.

She just prayed that things would just turn out for the best.

…

Elena was breathing heavy, her chest pulsing up and down as if someone was pushing down on it with force. The information just kept reeling through her mind, every word was churning, again and again, giving her no rest. After throwing her car keys onto the bed, she went to the bathroom with no real plan in mind. She stared at the mirror, still gasping to herself.

She didn't know what to do, or even what to think.

She shakily ran a hand through her hair before turning towards her brother's bedroom. She walked over to the door that connected his bedroom to their bathroom and peeked her head through the gap that was made. She saw with relief that Jeremy was lying in his half-egg chair, listening to music and playing video games, keeping himself entertained. She slowly and quietly closed the door, satisfied he was home and safe.

Elena just couldn't keep still; she paced around her room, took off her shoes and then ripped off her jacket. She lied back on her bed so her face stared up at the ceiling, but even there she didn't stay for long. Adrenaline was pumping through her veins, coursing with what she could assume was fear. _The window_. She remembered, clambering up from the bed as quickly as she could before going over and closing it shut. Making sure the inside lock was on.

Letting out a deep breath, she rested her head against the cold pane, wanting her heart to stop racing as hard as it was.

"Elena."

Elena jumped, her body snapping around with straight turn, a frightful gasp flying through her lips.

Standing there was Olivia, her sister … the _**vampire**_.

Elena's eyes started flickering to the open bedroom door and for some reason, the illogical side of her brain thought she could run out of the room faster than a vampire could. She tried that but suddenly found herself pressed against the now closed door, her head resting on the warm wood. The door closed just before reaching it, so she had bumped into the piece of wood. She could feel Olivia standing behind her, her hand resting against the door near her head.

"Elena, I would NEVER hurt you," Olivia promised as she successfully stops her sister from leaving without a talk. Her sister's body shook and she could hear the small whimpers coming out of her mouth – it made the vampire feel undeniably guilty, but she pushed it aside, for now, this wasn't the time _. This is your fault_. She told herself, _You brought this on yourself, Olivia_. "But you NEED to listen to me, _please_. You're safe with me, I promise."

Elena's bottom lip wobbled as her courage started to return to her, "But all those animal attacks?" That was the code word for dead bodies that were most likely killed by vampires, from what she had been able to gather. "All those people who died?" She couldn't believe the sister she knew would do such a thing, but right as of an hour ago, she really had no idea anymore.

Elena was now looking behind her, her body turning the other way so now her back rested against the door. She stared into the eyes of the vampire, her own sister, Olivia Gilbert.

"None of them were from either me or Stefan," Olivia promised in a strong voice, feeling just a touch happy that Elena was letting her speak, letting her explain herself a bit more. "That was Damon."

"D-Damon?" Elena's voice shook.

"Yes," Olivia nodded, letting out a breath, "Stefan doesn't drink human blood and I survive with other methods."

The memory of finding those blood bags came back to Elena, "Blood bags from the hospital?" She couldn't believe she just said that out loud, but it indicated that she had found them under the bed.

Olivia swallowed hard but was surprised none the less, realizing just how Elena had completely put everything together. "That's right." She confirmed, "It's how I choose to survive and Damon's the one who chooses to take lives rather than save them." Elena stayed silent, just staring at her, so she continued, "But I'll explain everything to you, but I'm _begging_ you, please DO NOT tell anyone about what you learned tonight. About me, about Stefan, and even about Damon."

"H-How can you ask me that?" Elena asked in a small voice, feeling trapped. She didn't even know how to explain everything to herself rationally, let alone to other people. The question just ran through her lips before she could even stop it.

Olivia did feel a pinch of hurt at the question because there was a pretty self-explanatory answer if you thought about it. "Because just knowing this is dangerous and for so many reasons. It's why I kept it from you in the first place."

Elena stayed silent and just looked at her sister with her eyes filled with tears again.

"You can hate me and never want to see me again." It hurt even having to say this, "But I _need_ you to trust me."

Again, all she received was silence.

Olivia felt her own eyes welling up again, "I'll be at Stefan's for a couple of days." She told her sister, wanting to give some room after everything that came up tonight. "And when you're ready to listen, just let me know and I'll tell you _everything_ that you want to know." She paused. "I promise."

The next thing Elena knew was that she was staring at an open window, the one she had previously locked. One last sentence rang through her ears before Olivia had disappeared, a small whispered admission.

' _I never wanted this.'_

…

 _Slurp. Slurp. Slurp._

Damon's head was buried in the neck of a female dressed in black leather clothing, her hair and neck now matted with her own blood. His teeth were still dug deep into the vein of this woman's neck as he ate his last body. There were others surrounding him, three more dead bodies. There was still one left that he could probably drain a little more, the depressing blonde he had started to eat in the forest just after he arrived in Mystic Falls. The very same one he nearly chucked off the roof the other night to try to get his brother drinking human blood.

Damon chucked his head back with a satisfying moan releasing from his lips, the empty body flopping to the ground like a rag doll. He used his thumb to wipe the blood seeping down his lips and sucked on the last remnants of the girl he killed. To wipe the rest off, he used the dead woman's sleeve so it didn't look like he ate like a pig, even though he probably did.

He didn't know how long he had gone without blood but knew it had been several days. Combining that with the fact he was held captive with a vast amount of vervain surrounding him, he had been _starving_.

"So much better." He sighed, delighted by the feeling of a warm and full stomach.

Shaking his head, he started getting down to business on clearing the mess he had made. He _could_ leave it, but then he knew what kind of trouble that would bring, and not from his brother or Olivia. But the people of Mystical Falls. He may have been killing people in town, but he was also very careful. Well, mostly careful. Part of him just assumed that people had forgotten that vampires even existed, but deep down, he knew that would never happen. Especially after what happened the last time in this depressing little town.

Damon grunted a little as he dragged the multiple bodies to a little section of the place he found them. _Stoner Peak in the Cemetery_. He had no idea if it was really called that, he just made it up. He had already been in the middle of setting his first body on fire with the help of alcohol as an accelerant, and now all he did was pile the bodies, one by one so they all burned to a crisp, along with how they _really_ died.

Before he deep fried the second to last body, he grabbed the mobile device from his pocket, intent on making a very important call to his _loving_ brother. The phone rang three times before someone actually picked up the call, and Damon was very much pleased to hear his brother answer.

" _Hello?"_ Stefan's confused voice sounded through the speaker. The number that flashed on his phone was an unknown one, he hadn't recognized it. But the voice that replied to him gave all that needed to know.

"I want my ring." Damon skipped the pleasantries, following his sentence with several large gulps of the vodka he had been using to burn the bodies behind him. He wasn't in the mood for playing games, so he hoped Stefan wouldn't start playing around with him. He may have had a very nice buffet, but he was still up high in the pissed-off land.

" _Where are you?"_ Stefan said instead, saying nothing about the piece of jewelry. He knew the moment the first word was spoken that it was his brother on the other end of the line.

Damon let out a quirk of a grin, "I'm at the sizzler." He replied, pouring some more of his vodka onto the flames, igniting it even further. He didn't even care that he may or may not burn the entire forest down. It was none of his concern. "I had a buffet." The grin suddenly ceased, "Now, where is my ring?"

" _I don't have it."_ Stefan grounded, pacing as he stood next to Olivia, standing outside the Gilbert residence. She hadn't left since running out of that window, not wanting to leave her brother and sister alone, even though they thought she wasn't there for the night. Jeremy probably didn't know, thinking about it. It was just Elena she had told of her plans to stay at Stefan's. _"Where are you? What have you done?"_ He asked again.

Olivia stared at Stefan, clearly hearing every word from the conversation. She had a deep weight weighing in her gut because she knew that what could have happened, wasn't good. Damon sounded way too happy earlier and she knew how hungry he must have been after being released from his cage.

"Oh, no." Damon drawled, pleased to be getting to his brother at least, and he could only assume that Olivia was with him. "What have you and your girl done?" He retorted, his voice returning with a pinch of anger. "This is all your fault – you're the ones that locked me in the basement and starved me. So, whatever I've done and whoever I've sucked dry, it's all on you two, bud."

" _Damon, you are being careless."_ Olivia finally spoke up, telling the other vampire she was indeed listening in on the conversation. Her voice was cautious but there was a hard tone to it. She stepped next to Stefan and he placed the phone between them, letting her get a say in this exchange. " _If there are people in Mystic Falls that know about vampires, then how many more bodies do you think they're just going to pass by before they conclude that we've come back? That we're actually living here."_ There were so many animal attacks lately that it did scare her deep down. And it wasn't just because of any one thing, there were multiple reasons.

Damon rolled his eyes on the other line, "I know how to cover my tracks, baby vamp." He countered, "Now Stefan, where is my ring?" Getting back to the point.

" _I gave it to Zach to hide_ ," Stefan told his brother, lying through his teeth while sounding pretty convincing at the same time. This made Damon pause on the other end, trying to judge whether his brother was telling the truth or not. " _You probably shouldn't have killed him."_

After a few moments, a little snort came back as a reply. Damon didn't believe him. "Ah, you almost got me there, little brother." He gave a short laugh before stopping as soon as it came. He turned serious again, "Where is it?" He demanded in a lower tone, through with playing around.

Stefan glanced over to Olivia who looked as conflicted as he felt. He knew that if he didn't give the ring back, bad things would happen. But if he did give it back, everything would go back to how it was before they locked him up. It was Olivia's reluctant nod that made up his ultimate decision. Her family was on the line, she had an Aunt, a brother, and a sister to think about. The townspeople, in general, were also something to deeply think about too. Damon could just as easily go after any one of them if he didn't get what he wants.

" _I'll get it back."_ Stefan finally said to his brother, reluctant. _"But I need time."_ Deep down, he knew that was pushing it.

"What, did you FedEx it to Rome?" Damon snapped, peeved to be waiting any longer than he had to. "Where is it?! I want my ring! Or my next stop is to visit Elena Gilbert."

Olivia could feel her fists clenching, so hard so that she could crumble a brick or even something thicker within the grasp. She felt a hand touching her arm to calm her down. She was angry. There was no way Damon was getting anywhere near her sister, let alone anyone else that's close to her as long as she lived.

Stefan was grounding his own teeth, feeling the same touch of anger. _"I already want you dead."_ He replied, " _Don't give me another reason to make it happen."_

"Don't give me another reason to rip you apart." Damon retorted.

" _Yeah?"_ Stefan raised an eyebrow even though his brother wouldn't be able to see it, " _Is that before or after you get your ring back?"_

Damon took a pause, seeing that dilemma. But shaking his head, he got back to the point with a narrowing of his eyes. "Just get it." He demanded, flipping the phone closed before another word could be pushed in. Rolling his eyes, he slipped the phone into his pocket, just in case it's needed for later. Especially if Stefan hasn't given back his ring yet.

The last body that needed to be burned came back into view as he turned around – that Vicki girl. She was still lying by the car, on her back and her neck was still slowly flowing with blood. He could smell it. There was probably still a bit more left in her, but he was just too full, to be honest. It was probably best to burn her at this point, thinking her blood probably wouldn't taste as good if he kept her around a few more hours. He could just find another body to drain.

As he started pouring some of the vodka onto to her but the body suddenly jerked on the ground, coughs spluttering out of Vicki's mouth. She was still alive, but barely.

Damon raised a furrowed brow at this, surprised this teenager was still alive, breathing. This one seemed to have a knack for staying alive, even though her life was so very depressing from what he could tell since he started using her as a ploy.

Vicki stayed unconscious and she went still again after a couple of seconds. But she was still clearly alive despite being so exceedingly low on blood. Damon could hear her slow heartbeat, but it was low and since he wasn't concentrating on the sound of a heartbeat, that would be why he didn't realize she was still alive in the first place.

"Well, well, well," He murmured to himself, tilting his head towards the living and breathing woman bleeding out on the ground. "You just don't want to die, do you?" He bent down next to her, brushing away some of the hair covering her neck. Unconsciously, he licked his lips. "Now, what am I going to do with you?"

…

Hours later; Elena was still wide awake and laying on her bed, hiding under the covers with them pulled up to her neck. She tossed and turned, but still couldn't sleep. A couple of times through the night she had peaked into her sister's room, and each time she found it empty, along with the overnight bag she kept in her cupboard. At one point, she even stared at the blood bags again, they were still there, minus the half-one.

Even though she couldn't believe it, everything was starting to sink is, as crazy as that sounded.

She had calmed down since the confrontation, but there was still a wariness and even a little fear being carried around with her. As much as it's unbelievable to even say that her sister was a vampire, she needed to know more, she should demand more.

After a much thought-out decision, she reached for the phone sitting on her bedside table and dragged it underneath the covers with her. Making an uneasy swallow with her hands lightly shaking, she started typing. Sending a text message to Olivia's phone.

 _Meet me at the Grill without Stefan._

 _11am._

Elena pressed send, and all she could do is wait until that time came.

After placing the phone where she originally grabbed it from, she let out a breath and started to close her eyes, hoping sleep would wrap her in a warm and comforting blanket throughout the rest of the night.

 **Author's Note || Follow, Fav, and Review!**


	20. 6-2 Conversation Between Two Sisters

**REMINDER –** _ **If you guys want a more up-to-date version of when an update is coming up, make sure to follow either my Wattpad or Quotev Profile. I've started, for a while now, letting everyone know when the next one will be coming. Either on that very same day or in a couple of hours after I post the notification. Unfortunately, Fanfiction doesn't have this feature which is why I only apply this to the other two accounts.**_

 **Vampire Diaries Fanfic | Dawn of a New Day | Lost Girls – Part 2**

Elena stared at her sister with a mixed expression, staying silent as her hands surrounded the outside of her coffee mug. They were sitting outside the Grill, instead of the inside, away from possible prying eyes and ears. The traffic going in and out of the establishment wasn't too busy but there was still a fair number of people. Anyone looking towards them was probably wondering what was going on between them – neither Elena nor her sister had said a word since they both arrived, unsure of what to say to begin the conversation.

Olivia was sitting on the other side of the table. Her fingers were wrung through the threads of her sleeves while her body shifted uncomfortably in her seat. The silence was unsettling but she really didn't know how to start, even after minutes of total and utter silence. What could she even say after everything that happened yesterday?

Olivia thought the nothingness would continue for another five minutes but her sister finally decided to speak up for the first time since arriving.

"You said you'd explain everything." She said. There wasn't an inch of a smile on her lips because it looked as though reality had finally set in. She kept her face neutral and nonplussed. Though, at least she didn't look as scared as she had been yesterday. Olivia marked that down as a good sign. "That's why I asked you to meet me here, alone." She didn't mention Stefan but the idea behind 'alone' was clear in her words.

Olivia nodded, following her sister's exact words. She was willing to do anything at this point because even though her sister had clearly realized that this was really happening – she hated not seeing that look of trust. Elena was leaning back in her chair, staying reserved in her stature and that's something she never used to do around her, ever. And even though Elena had said specifically that she wanted this conversation to be between the two of them, without Stefan, she wouldn't have brought Stefan anyway if it hadn't been said. This was something between two sisters and that's that.

Elena licked her lips and unconsciously bit the bottom one. She was internally readying herself to answer the bunch of questions she had written down last night during her lack of sleep. It wasn't exactly easy to sleep knowing your whole vision on the world had changed in just a few short hours, especially because that someone so very close to her heart had become the cause of it.

"When you google _vampire_ , you get a world of fiction." There were so many variations of vampires throughout hundreds of books and websites that there was no way to figure out if there was any truth to the information given. Albeit, there was now proof of the creatures' existence sitting in front of her, in the form of her own twin sister. Part of her still couldn't believe it because deep down, she didn't want to. "What's the truth?"

Olivia could ever-so-slightly detect a little curiousness in her sister's voice but it was mostly filled with hesitation. She could understand why. "Elena, I'll stick by what I said yesterday. I'll tell you whatever you want to know." Although, partly she hoped that the issue of HOW she became a vampire would be passed through. But, knowing Elena, the subject of how she became this creature was likely to come up at some point sometime in the future. She also knew there was going to be more specific questions then just the general ponder she had just inquired on.

"You eat garlic," Elena stated rather than asked a question. Olivia's favorite dish was Chicken Parmesan and that's a dish that didn't go well without its garlic. She knew her sister has had multiple dishes of that very same meal over the past couple of months, so that's how she knew garlic didn't have a bad effect on her … _vampire state_.

Olivia nodded, a small smile lining her lips at the quick thinking, "Yes, the effect of garlic's just a myth. It doesn't hurt me at all." Most of the questions Elena had could probably be answered by herself - if she just looked back on memories from the last couple of months. She had been living under the same roof as a vampire, after all.

Elena tilted her head with a small nod, acknowledging the answer. Her eyes suddenly narrowed inquisitively, "How is sunlight not an issue for you?" In every variation of the vampire lore, sunlight was always a common factor that either debilitates or kills the fiend. Neither of those seemed to be happening with her sister and there's been a lot of days where the sun was shining. Olivia was usually outside at the same time, not cooped up somewhere in the dark like the common consensus says.

Olivia brought her hand up to the top of the table and placed her palm on the surface for her sister to see. "I wear a special ring that protects me." The sunlight blazing above them shone against the little blue jewel encrusted into the lapis lazuli ring. "But if I didn't wear one, then yes, sunlight wouldn't end well for me." Still, to this day, she felt thankful for having found the ring on her finger after waking up in transition. Even though she hadn't known the purpose of it to begin with, she did now. She wouldn't still have her life if this ring hadn't been on her finger. Where had it come from? She still didn't know.

Elena glanced down at the ring, recognizing it as the one she's noticed her sister wearing constantly ever since coming back from Chicago. _The purpose of a single ring can stop a vampire from what-? … Burning?_ Suddenly, she felt a sinking feeling in her gut and a tense pressure build up inside. She didn't want that to happen, she couldn't lose her sister even though it felt like all this new information was starting to cave in on her. She kept thinking every now and then – _why is this happening?_

Trying to make it seem like her thoughts hadn't driven her off the path of wanting to know more, she continued her interview following her other questions that needed answers.

"What about crucifixes?" Her head turned back up after a quick shake to her head, looking to her sister once again.

"No harm, they're decorative objects."

"Holy water?"

"It's just normal water, nothing special." Olivia hadn't tested that out yet but the answer had originally come from Lexi after doing her own interrogation on the older vampire. She had done something similar to what Elena was doing on her, but a different variation of it, of course.

"Mirrors and reflections?"

Olivia couldn't help but let the corner of her mouth quirk up slightly, amused by the most obvious question so far. "Lena, I think you already know the answer to that question." Elena had seen her reflection in the bathroom mirror on multiple occasions, especially when they were getting ready for the Founder's party. She answered her question anyway, "But no, this isn't 'Angel' and I can still see myself in the mirror."

As she finished her sentence, it came to her that her sister hadn't stopped her from using the nickname she usually used. It made her smile inside and out, both relieved and happy there wasn't as much hostility towards her like there had been yesterday.

"Right." Elena shook her head, remembering that now, realizing how stupid of a question that had been. At least it was confirmed, though, and her twin was being honest with her. _For now_ , she thought, thinking Olivia may not be fully truthful on many other things to come. She hoped her thoughts were wrong because she wanted to trust her sister again. After yesterday, a lot of that trust had flown out the window, quite literally and figuratively. Olivia was her twin sister and even after the absurdity of everything that's gone on in the past 24 hours, she still wanted some semblance of a normal life again.

If that's even possible anymore, she didn't quite know.

"You said you don't kill to survive." Elena turned herself back to the questioning. She was interested in wanting to know more but was also wanting to assure herself on the more important issues surrounding this new development. The other reason why she was so calm in all of this was probably due to the fact that part of her still didn't _truly_ believe and that this was likely to be an odd and horrible dream. But, she had accepted it. She was indulging in her more irrational form of mind now while ignoring the rational side. "That you use-" She lowered her voice, subtlety seeing if there was anyone around them before she continued, "-blood bags."

Olivia nodded, lowering her voice a little also to answer this specific question. "I try to depend mostly on animal blood but because I'm so new, it's been hard." She admitted, "I don't like having to rely on blood bags but so far it's kept me from hurting anyone. It keeps me from hurting you, Jeremy, Jenna and anyone else that I care about."

Elena drunk in the information, following every word, "What about Stefan and … Damon?" She had to make a small pause before saying Damon's name because of how much it hurts that he's a vampire. Not only that but he's also the one whose been killing multiple people from the very town that was near and dear to her heart. Mystic Falls was her home and there were monsters running around killing people. It hurts even more because she had a crush on the older Salvatore. Now she's having to force herself to remember that he was a creature of the night.

She swallowed, feeling a little fear creeping into her system now that she knew what Damon Salvatore was really doing in town.

"Stefan lives purely off animal blood." Olivia answered, noticing the pause but didn't question it, "He's the one that's been teaching me control and Damon…" She glanced around, again seeing if anyone was around them, "He physically bites people, drains them of their blood and dumps the bodies. I guess you could consider him the definition of a run-of-the-mill vampire." Zach's face flashed before his eyes and her heart suddenly hurt. She had helped Stefan bury his body yesterday because no one could find his body the way that it was, his head twisted so hard that it had to take non-human hands to snap it. She knew Stefan wasn't feeling very good about his death right now. He was blaming it all on himself, which was false.

Elena felt herself frown and her head tilt a little in confusion. There was also a reaction of anger littering in her voice.

"So … you've known that Damon was this monster and still you let him be with _Caroline_?" If this really was still her sister, the one that she knew and loved, she would have never accepted that and kept Damon away from her at all costs. As much as sometimes she hated it – Caroline was also like a sister to Olivia, sometimes closer that she was one. She would have never risked Caroline's life like that.

Olivia knew that question would come up at some point.

"Because it's not that simple, Elena." She returned, keeping her words as simple and understandable as possible, "Damon's _a lot_ older than I am and much more powerful given that he drinks from the vein. I don't drink enough human blood to make me even a third of his strength." That's why they had to make a solid plan when they went to take down Damon at the Founder's party. It's why she straight up snapped his neck rather than given him the chance to fight. She may already be dead and stuck as a vampire but she didn't want her heart ripped out of her chest anytime soon, or staked, for that matter.

"He never physically hurt her, _thank god_ , but Caroline was also under a form of mind compulsion." Olivia continued, "He could take away her memories, tell her what to do, what to say, and it's something neither me or Stefan could override."

"-Compulsion?" Elena repeated the only part that really stuck with her throughout the whole sentence. She leaned back in her chair again, almost as if she were staying away from her sister because now she was being cautious. Had she been mind controlled? Had Jeremy … or Jenna?

As if realizing what might be going through her head, her sister explained further.

"I have NEVER used compulsion on you, Lena." Olivia boldly assured her sister but wasn't completely sure if her words would help ease that tension. "Or Jeremy, Jenna and anyone else in town. I could never do that to you."

"And how can I be sure?" This compulsion could take away memories which would be why she couldn't remember anything like that.

Olivia gestured to the bracelet around her sister's wrist, "Because of the bracelet I gave you." She reaffirmed as Elena went to brush her fingers against the soft wool and the cold silver that read ' _sister's forever_ '. The small pad of her thumb circled it as she listened further, "It's coated with a special herb called _Vervain_ that's essentially poison to me or any other vampire. It's a protection and Jeremy also has a bracelet I gave to him. There wasn't enough of the herb left for me to make one for Caroline and Jenna." She felt guilty but it's the best she was able to do. Mind you, Zach had shown her and Stefan all the vervain he had been hiding, now she'd be able to make a protection bracelet for both.

Elena stayed silent for a few moments as she tried to think of what to say, keeping her head down or turned away to another location.

"Are there any others," She finally asked, her eyes looking back up to her sister, "Aside from Stefan, Damon … and you?" She needed to know if there was anymore danger lurking within their town of Mystic Falls. Right now, she decided to trust the fact that Olivia wouldn't hurt them, but she wasn't going to let the guard down fully until she was completely sure she could trust this new development. She's read a lot throughout her life and watched a lot. Vampires were always considered dangerous and unpredictable – she just wanted to be a hundred percent sure about her sister before things could even try to go back to the way they were.

"Not in Mystic Falls, not as far as I know," Olivia replied, shaking her head. "But there used to be a long time ago, long before we were born and that's why there are people in this town that still believe vampires walk among them." She paused, now starting to plead with her eyes as she got to the most important part of this conversation. "Elena, that's why you cannot tell _anyone_ that you know any of this."

"I-" Elena didn't know how to respond to something like that. If she agreed, that meant she couldn't talk to Bonnie about this, she'd have no one to talk to about everything she had learned. Only her sister whom she was barely trusted right now given the new circumstances. "I don't know if I can promise that." She understood and knew that she couldn't talk to someone who she didn't know, she wasn't that stupid. It was more of if she needed to talk to a friend then how could she when all of this was a secret?

"…Okay." Olivia said after a moment, knowing that pushing her sister to agree to something wasn't going to be very wise. She wasn't entirely okay with it, really, because just by that admission, it felt like Elena didn't truly trust her still. It hurt, but she could comprehend at the same time. "Just give it today, please? I will answer any other questions you have and afterward, I'll let you decide what you want to do with the information. It'll be your choice."

Olivia didn't say anything about the possible repercussions of telling someone about the fact she's a vampire because she was sure Elena could figure that one out for herself. It wouldn't feel good trying to guilt trip a decision out of her sister either, to make her feel forced to turn to a certain conclusion. All she could do now was hope that Elena would choose the right path that would keep her around in Mystic Falls for the foreseeable future.

…

Sheriff Elizabeth Forbes was bent down, hovering over a dead body, a corpse that had been torched and now looked like an awful smelling burnt jerky stick. She had on a pair of latex gloves covering her hands, holding up the cream-colored tarp so she could assess the body as clearly as possible. The coroner hadn't given her a full cause of death yet but she can make assumptions given the experience she's had. Especially when it came to dealing with death in Mystic Falls.

Next to her was Logan Fell, the local news reporter who held a thin tissue over his mouth as if it would stop the smell from reaching his sinuses. Since the Sheriff has had a lot of practice with the smell of a dead body, the odor wasn't the thing that affected her the most. It was the number of casualties surrounding her. Three, to be exact.

"Never smelled one this bad before," Logan commented with a cringe on his face, almost gagging as he had to take in a needed breath. The stench was really getting to him this time – this was the first set of bodies he's had to do a news report on that included them being burnt.

"It tried to cover its tracks." Even though the body was torched, she noticed a placement of two small holes on the neck of the victim she examined. She was sure the other three were bound to have the same markings too. Two small round holes in the neck usually only calculated to one thing – _vampire._ It's a problem the town had been dealing with for a couple of months now, ever since the bodies have started to drop at a larger rate than usual. Because of this, it was getting harder and harder to stop people prying harder into what really happened to the people who were turning up dead.

She placed the sheet back over the body and she shook her head over the carnage in front of her. It was a devastating sight to witness in such a small town.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive." The Sheriff nodded confidently as she got up from her crouch. She roamed to another body and the news reporter followed close behind. "Besides, you only burn a corpse when you try to hide the cause of death." Although the charred tissue was a good indicator of what was behind this – it's just a shame they couldn't pinpoint the _who_. "There's also no shell casings lying around."

Logan's head glanced between the several bodies, "Do we know who they are?" He wondered. If they did, he could include it during his press release later to let the townspeople know of the horrific tragedy. Although, he didn't know what story he was going to run.

She shook her head, "No, doc'll have to check their dental records during the autopsy."

"What story should I run?" There were a lot of scenarios Logan Fell could pick from but what will sound the most convincing in a small town like Mystic Falls? He didn't like misleading the people who watched his segments on the news but it was better than everyone knowing the truth.

The Sheriff let out a long breath, staring at the sheet-covered bodies. She hated the fact that their deaths would have to be lied about. It was bad enough that they still haven't caught the monster behind all these attacks. She just prayed they could take this thing down before anyone else turns up dead. "Maybe a drug deal gone bad? It's not too big of a stretch." She suggested, shrugging a shoulder to prove that she didn't truly know if it would go through. It sounded like a possible solution since there were quite a few drug addicted teens and adults around the town.

Logan nodded his head, deciding to run with that story. He had the uncanny ability to turn a fake story into sounding like a real one - he could pull it off. Glancing around and looking over his shoulder to make sure no one was listening in, he lowered his voice with importance suddenly laced in his tone, "I got the Gilbert watch." He told her, knowing that no one could overhear them. What he was talking about right now was Founder's business, top secret and only a few people know about it.

The Sheriff knew exactly what he was talking about. "Good." She uttered, her voice also lowering as she acknowledged his message. She was about to say something else but one of her deputies suddenly appeared before the pair, holding out a cheap black bag, a female's handbag.

"Found this in the bushes about ten yards away." The deputy told his boss, passing over the handbag for her to inspect it further. He watched as she dug into the clutch and retrieved the small green snake-skinned purse. He took a hold of the bag once again when she passed it back to him. Flipping through the dozen cards within, she suddenly paused when the driver's license came into view.

She pulled it out and it revealed a name she really didn't want to see.

 _Vicki Donovan._

"You know her?" Logan inquired with a crease of interest in his features, seeing a look across her face, a look he's seen quite a few times during his time as the main news reporter in Mystic Falls. Personally, he didn't really know the person on the driver's license but wasn't that the girl who narrowly missed death a short while ago? One of the vampire's only living victims?

"I went to High School with her mother." The Sheriff nodded as the feeling of dread started finding it's way into her system. Her eyes flickered over to the bodies again, needing to know who they belonged to now more than ever. God, she really did hope that Vicki Donovan wasn't one of the victims lying on the ground. The poor girl had just survived a vampire attack not too long ago.

…

"Where are you, Stefan?!"

Damon nearly barked into the phone, bored and growing more frustrated by the minute. He was stuck inside the Boarding house with the sun beaming outside, preventing him from living the life he had before the ring was taken away from him. He strolled through the living room, narrowly missing the streams of sunlight piercing through the almost closed curtains. "I'm trapped at the house, and I'm getting really bored and really impatient, and I DON'T do bored and impatient." Stopping just in front of his liquor table, he poured a glass of whiskey that filled halfway up. " _Bring me my ring_!"

He took the phone away from his ear and abruptly hung up with an irritated huff.

He was about to take a sip from his glass when he noticed something on the couch and it made his shoulder slump. "Aw, don't get blood on the couch." He practically whined, referring to the long-haired brunette splayed out on the piece of furniture with two large holes in her neck, covered by a blood-soaked towel. She was passed out, her lips dry and pinky while the rest of her body was looking more clammy and pale. "Please."

Damon placed the drink onto one of the tables before pacing over to where her immobile body was lying. After reaching her, he sat behind her head next to the arm of the chair, perching on the side table that was conveniently placed there. He bent over to see the damage he had caused just a few hours ago and was evidently pleased that he could still smell the richness of her blood from up close. She didn't look as appetizing as she had back then but still looked like a good meal to snack on.

Reaching forwards, he peeled back the towel to look a little closer.

"I got you good, didn't I?" He murmured with a smirk, licking his bottom lip while placing the towel back where he had originally placed it. He stopped and sat still for a moment, thinking. "Well, you're not going to be any fun today." He thought out loud, feeling bored to death, just as he had told his brother over the phone. Wasn't that the whole reason he had brought this girl back with him in the first place? To continue using her as a blood bag and maybe use her as a bit of fun until Stefan and his little girlfriend could get him his ring back?

"Hmmm…" He hummed, nodding to himself, seemingly thinking something through before he decided whether or not to do it. "Man, I am so gonna regret this." He said under his breath as he shook his head, starting to bunch up one of his long sleeves to the top of his elbow, showing off his forearm.

Just as the girl started to mumble something as she slept on, twisting a little on the couch as if she were about to awaken, the demon behind her bit into his skin so that blood started to pass through the surface. Bending down a little, he forced the bleeding wound into her mouth, forcing her to start licking the foreign object pushing into her mouth. He forced her to drink the crimson liquid.

Soon enough she began slurping at the blood, drinking it up as her hands grasped his arm tightly, wanting more. Damon simply just rested his head on the top of her head as he let her take as much as she wanted, just like the addict she already was.

…

"What is this place?"

Elena was gaping around with her head turning to all sorts of directions as they arrived at the place Olivia had directed them to. Originally, they had been driving in her car but had to stop because the vehicle could no longer go any further. They were very far into the forest and unintentionally; Elena wasn't feeling too safe being all the way out here. Before, she had no problems with the forest, but now, everything's changed and for good reason.

The sisters had arrived at the lake with a small waterfall on the ledge. It was beautiful. The body of water was surrounded by a line of trees with small patches of grass around the edges. The sun was radiated from above, hitting the surface of the water so it shimmered brightly. Elena had to admit, she had never seen a place much like this before in her life. She never even knew it existed just outside of Mystic Falls. They had driven for about an hour and this place was clearly in the middle of nowhere. Along the way, Elena had to take off her jacket because the journey had quickly started to feel like a hike.

"It's amazing, isn't it?" Olivia smiled lightly at the place, looking towards the waterfall mainly because it made her feel completely at peace, something only certain things can do for her these days. "I don't think many people know this place even exists so it's one of the reasons why I wanted to show you it." As far as she knew, only the two of them now knew about it. She hadn't even told Stefan about it yet but till now, it had been her own little secret hiding place.

Elena mutely nodded, feeling an undeniable urge that told her that this place _did_ look magnificent. It was like no evil could destroy something so beautiful, however, it did make her curious as to why else Olivia might have shown her where this lake was.

"I'm not going to hold anything back, Lena." Olivia suddenly spoke with a light warning. Her eyes turned sad they turned towards her sister. She knew there was a lot to talk about, more than had been established earlier at the Grill. The journey on the way here had been more-or-less silent which gave them both time to think. For her, she wanted to find a way to break the more devastating news to Elena in the best possible way. This lake was the best place to be and there was a reason as to why she knew the existence of it. This landmark was special to her, it made her feel safe, in a sense.

Originally, she hoped Elena wouldn't find out about how she became a vampire and what she did afterward, but, really, she didn't want to be living a lie anymore. Her sister knew about her demon form and that's probably the worst it could get right now.

"I used to come here and still do occasionally when things get too intense. Mostly when the cravings become too much for me to handle. There's no one around when I come out here, so it helps." Olivia started to explain, crossing her arms over her chest as she mostly focused on the surroundings. It was going to be hard admitting all of this to her own twin sister.

She began wandering slowly around the edge of the lake with her sister keeping in step, listening closely. "I'm still learning to control myself because of how new I am. If it wasn't for Stefan, I wouldn't have made it this far."

Olivia briefly thought back to the party at the Falls. If it hadn't been for Stefan, she really thought her lust for blood would have become so bad that her demons would be unleashed. The guy saved her from killing so many people that day and she'll forever be thankful for that. She couldn't have lived knowing she had been the cause of so many people's death.

"Wait," Elena's brows suddenly furrowed, her head glancing over to her sister, "How long have you-" She didn't have to finish her sentence because the beginning was clear on what the subject was about. Her original thought had been around the time the Chicago trip happened because that's when Olivia had changed. She had been more closed off, staying in her room a lot more or just secluding herself from socializing in general – more than usual.

"Since Chicago." Her sister answered, a haunting spark fluttering in her eyes, "About two weeks before I came home…"

…

"Ah, man!"

Vicki Donovan bounced down the stairs of the Salvatore Boarding house wielding a clean white town, fluffing it through her newly washed hair and down her clean-clothed body. She decided to only wear the old tank top she ordinally had on and her panties, not caring that she was only half-dressed as she made her way downstairs to where the vampire was standing and waiting for her. She had a full beam on her lips, feeling happy and refreshed, "That shower was _so_ great." She commented, feeling somewhat high.

Just as she reached the main floor, she suddenly noticed her reflection in one of the mirrors and something strange caught her eye. Pausing, she peered closer into the mirror, eyes narrowing towards the side of her neck where she remembered seeing two small holes earlier. "What did you give me?" She asked out loud, casting an eye over her shoulder to Damon.

Damon was leaning back against the doorway closest to her, his head tilted upwards, "Some blood." He answered without a care in the world, "You loved it." Which was true, he had to eventually rip her teeth out of his arm after a minute or so.

Vicki frowned, "I did?" It sounded gross to her but he was kidding, right?

Damon simply gave a small hum, nodding his head.

"Wait. I'm confused." The teenager looked around the room, almost as if she were realizing that she wasn't in the last place she remembered to be. She was confused. Hadn't she been in the Cemetery with Jeremy and the guys? "How did we get here?" She walked up to Damon as his head turned towards her, his piercing eyes unknowingly protruding towards her neck.

When she arrived at the other side of the doorway, he simply connected their eyes and began the process of brainwashing her. He didn't want to have to deal with a teenager that would make him stir crazy. He could live with having her a bit nuts but mostly, he just wanted to have some fun for the rest of the day. He doubted he'd get his ring back until past nightfall anyway.

"You were drunk," He compelled, his iris widening as hers followed, "I attacked you. Then I killed all your friends and brought you here, gave you some blood. You loved it. And now we're gonna party till the sun goes down." They were simple instructions and very easy to follow for someone who was being controlled.

There were a few seconds of silence before Vicki began smiling again. She started to get amped up like she was ready to party, just as Damon had compelled of her. "Okay," Her eyes flickered to the same arm he fed to her last time, "Um, but first, can I have another hit? That blood was _so_ good."

Damon let out a playful grin but it had a dangerous intent behind it. The party was starting and he was going to have a lot of fun until his ring was returned to him.

"Only if I can too."

 _This was going to be fun … and tasty._

…

Elena remained silent as her mind sprinted through what had just been disclosed to her. Olivia had _died_ , she had come back as a vampire, and she had _killed_ a human being. She swallowed hard with an unusually dry mouth, not sure what path her lips should take when it came to what should be said next. All she knew is that it's like her sister wasn't truly there anymore, at least, not the girl she used to know. It was still Olivia Gilbert, her sister, but this was a slight variation – she was more dangerous and less innocent than she used to be.

She wanted to try and stay positive but there were so many things wanting to be the main thoughts.

"I didn't want to keep it from you because I never wanted any of this to happen," Olivia told her quietly, looking down with shame covering her words. "I never wanted to become this … thing. I never wanted to hurt that man, it just – it just happened and now I'll have to live with that forever. Like I said before; I'm trying. I'm trying SO hard and sometimes it does feel impossible, but eventually, I make it out. That's why I spend a lot of time with Stefan, he keeps me grounded and helps me in the moments when I can't get past an obstacle by myself."

After everything Elena had been told just in the past couple of minutes – she should be running in fright or feeling angry at the fact that her sister had KILLED someone. A living and breathing person. But, that wasn't the thing truly getting to her, there was something else that suddenly felt too overpowering to ignore.

"You _died_?" She finally breathed with a shake of her head, bringing a hand up to her forehead before wringing it through the strands of her hair. The pair stopped by a set of rocks near the edge of the waterfall. Elena had to sit down on one to stop her legs from collapsing under the information. Before, she couldn't imagine that had happened considering her sister was standing right in front of her but as of late, now she couldn't stop imagining all the possibilities she's been so ignorant to all her life.

The prospect of her sister dying frightened her more than the fact she had killed just one person. She couldn't lose another family member. They had already lost their parents, Jeremy was turning away from them to take comfort in drugs and drinking and the only stable person in the family by far was Jenna. There weren't many people left in the Gilbert family and if there was, they were extremely distant and practically non-existent. Her twin was a part of her, they were bonded and no matter what, they needed each other. She couldn't imagine life without her twin sister – the one person who made _her_ feel grounded, especially after the crash that killed their parents.

"God, this is _soo_ messed up."

Olivia let out a lighthearted laugh and nodded to agree with that statement. "You're telling me." She went over to sit down next to her sister and as she did, she witnessed a small smile lift on the brunette's lips even though it was also trying to be hidden.

…

"-We're working on it, Mayor Lockwood." Sheriff Forbes informed the Mayor of Mystic Falls, standing behind the man as he opened up a cubby hole in the floor of the Lockwood Mansion.

Mayor Lockwood glanced over his shoulder, placing the floorboard to the side of him as he spoke, "Did the doc I.D the bodies?" He inquired.

The woman nodded her head, looking solemn, "A few townies." She answered, "Notorious druggies."

"I suppose that'll make it easy for the people to buy the story." Referring to the drug deal gone bad story Logan was going to be running later tonight. "And Vicki Donovan?"

"She's not one of the deceased." Sheriff Forbes watched as the Mayor reached into the hole and pulled out a small oval box that looked more like an egg-shaped chest. Naturally, she was glad one of the torched bodies wasn't Vicki Donovan. Despite that, it did make her question where the teenager had gone. Had she seen the druggies being murdered by this monster and run away as fast as she could? Was she also dead but just hidden from them in another part of the forest? There were just a lot of questions.

Mayor Lockwood's brows furrowed, "Then where the hell is she?" He didn't personally like Vicki Donovan, especially since she had a connection with his son, but she was still a human being that could have been killed by a demon of the night.

All the Sheriff could do was give a small one-shouldered shrug, "I wish I knew."

"Sorry, I'm late." Logan Fell suddenly appeared out of nowhere, apologizing as he stepped up to the pair. Both of the occupants looked glad to see him, relieved, even.

Mayor Lockwood's back straightened up as he reached out his hand from where he crouched on the floor, "You have the watch?" He not-so-patiently waited for Logan to pass it to him. Elizabeth had informed him earlier of the fact that the man had succeeded in retrieving a special watch they needed to finally hunt down this demon running around their town.

Logan nodded, reaching into his pocket to grab something on the bottom of it. The object he brought out was a small golden pocket watch with strange carvings on the casing – inside didn't hold anything of value. Only an old watch that hadn't worked in years. He opened the watch and passed it over to the older man.

The Mayor took it from him and quickly threw out the current insides. Placing it on the floor for a second, he reached down to the floor and grabbed the one thing he had to use in order to get the watch fully operational for the purpose it was really intended for. In his hand was an old case that was just a bit bigger than the size of his palm – on the top panel was a unique design that probably meant nothing. It was clear the object was very old. Opening it, he found something that could only be described as a pointing mechanism. It looked as though it could fit inside a pocket watch and clearly fool anyone who thought it was one.

The Mayor took it out of the case and placed it inside the Gilbert watch, clicking it right so it was in there tightly and securely attached. Slowly getting up from his crouch, he turned to the other two with an eager look glimmering in his eye.

"It's ready."

…

"Is that Damon's ring?"

Elena stared at the large ring in her sister's hand, recognizing the piece of jewelry as she took it out of a small piece of cloth. Olivia had reached underneath a rock beside them and retrieved it. She could tell it was Damon's because she had seen him wearing it, always on the same finger. It was also like the one Stefan wore, only with a _D_ on it instead of an _S_.

Olivia nodded, looking down at it with a resulted sigh. In the end, she had decided to take the ring and hide it somewhere Damon wouldn't find it. He was unlikely to know of this place and more likely to claw through the places Stefan would have chosen to hide it. It had been more logical for her to hide it and let no one know of its location. However, given the fact that her family's life was now in danger, it was an agreeing notion that Damon needed it back before he went on another killing spree. She couldn't risk anyone she loved getting hurt because of what she had done to the vampire.

She got up from her seat because she knew it was about time to go.

"Stefan took it from him but now we have to give it back."

"What? No, you can't do that," Elena shook her head with her eyes widened. The fear of Damon now starting creep in again after learning what she had in the past twenty-four hours. She didn't understand why her sister would do that and willingly hand over something that let Damon walk outside during the daytime. "Keep it hidden." She rose from her place a few seconds later.

"Lena, if we don't give this back to him, he'll retaliate in the way that he knows how to hurt _me_."

Usually, it would be going through Stefan that the older Salvatore would retaliate on but because Zach was dead, that only left her. Damon could try and kill her, but that would only be punishing Stefan. He was going to find a way to hurt her and that was through her family instead.

"And how is that?"

"By hurting you." Olivia told her, her tone serious, "By hurting Jeremy, Jenna, Caroline, and whoever else he can sink his teeth into that's close to me. It's not something I'm willing to risk Elena, not ever."

…

Damon stared down at the teenager lying dead on his floor with a snapped neck that was almost twisted a full 180. He nodded his head to himself, looking down at what he had just done out of simple boredom. It wasn't the worst thing he had ever done. Though, he could tell there weren't going to be two happy vampires thanking him later.

Yep … he was _soo_ going to regret this.

 **Follow, Fav, and Review!**


	21. 6-3 Transitioning into a Vampire

**A little over-schedule but it did come out to over 12,000 words instead, the longest chapter so far of the series. Enjoy!**

 **Vampire Diaries Fanfic | Dawn of a New Day | 6.3 - Transitioning into a Vampire**

Damon was idly wandering around his brother's room as he waited for the dead teenager to wake up from her slumber. Just a few hours before snapping her neck, he had been giving her exactly what she had wanted, what she craved, and that was blood. _His_ blood. Because of this, she would now turn into the same monster he was and had been for nearly a hundred and fifty years. She'll become the fourth vampire in Mystic Falls as of right now if she chooses to complete the transformation, that is.

As he waited for an amazingly long time; Damon made the stupid choice of testing out sunlight against his skin for the first time in years, without his ring attached to his finger. Let just say – it wasn't a trip through candy land. His hand sizzled like bacon on a skillet for the few seconds the stream of light hit the surface of his skin. He winced at the sensation he received. Because he's recently had a lot of warm blood running down his throat and to his stomach, it did heal within a manner of seconds.

It took him by surprise but finally a groan filtered through the air and hit his eardrums.

Damon shook his hand in the air as it healed while glancing over his shoulder to see the transitioning vampire begin to wake up. She was still sprawled out on the floor but her arms and legs were starting to stretch out, imitating a cat. Her eyes started to flutter open and she tiredly looked around at her surroundings in a confused manner. She was clearly unsure of what had happened and how she ended up lying on the cold wooden floor.

"What happened?" She mumbled to herself but to the other person in the room too. She noticed the man she had been dancing with over towards the corner. Her hands scrunched up by her eyes as she rubbed the corners. She tried to lift her upper body from the floorboards but for some reason, her entire body felt drained and heavy. It's almost as if she didn't have as much energy left in her like she usually did. Sometimes she felt like this after going on a day-long-plus bender but somehow, it didn't feel the same. "We were dancing, and then-"

Again, how did she end up on the floor?

She didn't remember lying down to sleep on it.

"-Then I killed you." Damon finished her sentence for her as she started to rub the back of her neck with her grimace on her lips. The way she moved was almost comical. It looked as though she were imitating someone who was drunk and high at the same time, times a hundred. Every time she tried to get up; she was finding it hard to even try and get her footing together so her body just simply fell to the floor.

Vicki either didn't hear him or clearly didn't believe him. She tried to close her eyes and squeeze them shut as the bright light from the bedroom window hit her. It felt painfully bright and annoying, more than usual after a fun night doing her usual, "What?" She finally squinted her eyes up at him as the words finally hit home. Had she heard him wrong or was she imagining something else?

"You're _dead_."

"I'm dead?" Vicki obviously didn't believe him because she audibly scoffed at the audacity of his assertion. She's not dead – how stupid could someone get? She was clearly awake and breathing and the unusual ache in her neck was proof enough that she could still feel her body working.

Damon confidently nodded and leaned himself against one of the side tables, "Yeah, well, let's not make a big deal out of it." He brushed off the seriousness of what was happening to her. She'll figure it out for sure later, whether she wants to believe it or not. She'll get to have fun making a choice on either becoming a vampire or dying as a measly human. He was honestly interested to know which road she'll pick, although, either way was better than what she used to be. A useless human with no life ahead of her. "You drank my blood, I killed you, and now you have to feed to complete the process."

After a few seconds of shaking her head; Vicki was finally able to gain enough strength to heave herself off the floor, with the help of Stefan's bed. "You're wasted," She groaned, feeling a banging sensation crawl into her skull, sensing that this guy was probably worse than she felt. Noticing her pants lying on the bed, she clumsily grabbed them and began stumbling towards the bedroom door. She didn't want to stay here another moment and quite frankly, she wanted to go home, jump into her bed and fall asleep for a couple of days.

Damon simply raised an eyebrow as she tried walking out of the bedroom, unimpressed. All he could see was a girl dragging her feel along, looking like hell, acting like a child who didn't want to get out of bed in the morning. "You don't want to be out there all alone." He pretended to look concerned but really, he couldn't care less. He, of course, couldn't follow her out anyway since his ring was still nowhere to be found.

He was slightly annoyed when he didn't receive a reply so when Vicki wasn't looking, he sped in front of her to block the access to the stairway. The action nearly made her collide into his bare chest. She didn't look surprised as she stumbled to a stop but was more irked and disoriented than anything.

"You're about to get REALLY freaky."

After taking a quick look over her shoulder to make sure him moving in front of her hadn't been a dream, she rolled her eyes in response, "Okay, look," She started, having more control on how her words formed as they left her mouth, "I had a really good time but right now I just want to go _home_." She could still barely open her eyes. They felt heavy, useless and everything still felt blinding. She craved to be in the dark or at the very least, she wished her sunglasses were on her face.

"You're gonna start craving blood," Damon warned her in a scolding manner, not moving out of the way, "And until you get it, you're gonna feel very out of it. You have to be careful." He only said that last part because he didn't really want to be pointed out to the townspeople that he was a vampire. He's spent a lot of energy keeping himself out of the limelight when it comes to the mysteriousness of the killings in this town. He was sure there were people around Mystic Falls that still knew of their kind.

And deep down, whether anyone knows it or not, he still thought about the other two vampires he knew. One of them being his brother. If anyone was going to kill them – it would be him. But, like Stefan had mentioned just before he murdered the History teacher, there was a reason why he hadn't done the deed and was still haunting even after 145 years.

Vicki still wasn't listening so she simply shoved him aside.

Damon didn't try to stop her this time. All he did was appear amused as she tried walking out of the room again. "See?" He gestured to her body even though she couldn't see that, "You're already starting to fall apart." He couldn't help but chuckle to his own amusement.

"I'm going home now." Vicki declared, curling the pants into her arms, deciding to wait until she survived the stairs to put them on. At least she'll be out of this guy's presence, he was too arrogant for his own good. He was like another Tyler Lockwood but with better fashion sense.

"Okay, fine." Damon lifted his hands up in a surrendering gesture, "I'm was just warning you." He went to turn around and let her go off but something suddenly came to mind, a plan almost. "Actually, you know what-? " He paused himself, looking back over to her retreating body. "You _should_ go." Vicki's head rolled back over to him in a second, wondering why he was suddenly changing his attitude on her leaving after all. "In fact, if I were you, I would stop by your boyfriend Jeremy's house."

During their hours of fun together – the teenager had admitted to a lot of things.

One of them being how close she was to the littlest Gilbert – Olivia's brother.

"Yeah, whatever." Vicki rolled her eyes again, beginning to ignore him again when he had nothing interesting to say, "Bye."

As she started padding down the stairs slowly, gripping onto the handlebar attached to the wall to keep her body steady, she heard the vampire call something else to her.

"Tell Elena I said ' _Hi_ ' … and if you see that sister of hers or my brother, tell them to call me!"

…

In the middle of a forest; the Sheriff drove up to a man wearing items of clothing that are usually not worn while going on a hike. It was Logan Fell, still wearing his usual attire that he wore on a typical day. In his hand was the small, palm-sized pocket watch that held the solution to finding the demon hidden in the woods.

The police car's sirens blared until the vehicle came to a stop. The multiple strands of chatter coming from the dispatcher could easily be heard from outside the open windows. The three people meeting in the middle of nowhere were gathered down a dirty patch of road where no one travels down. It was also the best place to start looking for this creature of the night. There were a lot of hiding places someone could hide that would keep them out of the light.

The Sheriff and her deputy stepped out of the vehicle and made their way towards the news reporter, ready to get this show on the road. The Sheriff was the first to talk, informing Logan Fell on what had happened so far while he's been waiting for them to arrive. "I've got Stanley on the Moore Street entrance." She told him, holding a handgun in her hand with some wooden bullets she's had stashed away in her desk. For if ever this situation should come up. "The rest of us will cover the other access points. Call him or call me if that thing goes off." Gesturing to the pocket watch clutched in his hand.

"DON'T use the radio." She further instructed, "Cellphones _only_."

Logan nodded, understanding, "Got it."

"Here." The Sheriff carefully placed the firearm into his hands with the safety still on. "You've got 8 rounds. But remember – wood bullets won't kill him but it'll wound him enough for you to get close and stake him." They were going on the assumption that this vampire was a male instead of female. Logan glanced down at the gun and she wanted to make sure he was up to the task. "You sure you can handle this?"

His simple answer was switching the safety off the gun and looking more than ready for a hunt, "Of course I can."

The Deputy who knew full well what they were up against passed over a large stake.

"You ever staked a vampire before?"

Logan looked between them, his eyebrows raised, "Have you?"

…

"Who are you trying to call?"

Elena asked as she glanced over to her sister, seeing her make yet another call that no one seemed to be answering. They were currently walking back to the car since the sun was beginning to set. Unlike yesterday and this morning; Elena could positively say that some of the feelings she harbored then had considerably dimmed over the last few hours. She was still a bit unsure, who wouldn't be? But overall, she felt weirdly … okay.

Olivia sighed a little in frustration, pulling the phone away from her ear as the voicemail greeted her once again. "Stefan." She answered her sister, giving up on trying to call him again until a few minutes have passed. Maybe he just wasn't near his phone? Although, she couldn't imagine why because he would have heard it ring if so.

A little worry started to press in on her heart but she pushed it aside, for now, not wanting to think like that and imagine the worst. Stefan wasn't making it very easy on her, though, "He's not answering his phone."

…

"Where is she?"

Was the first thing Matt said as soon as Jeremy opened the front door and he pushed his way inside. He was standing there with worry riddling in his eyes. It was the same thing Jeremy felt, along with the hopelessness. Jeremy stepped aside as Matt brushed past. Jeremy had been the one to call him over but Vicki was also requesting that he come. She was currently stuffing her face with any food she could find. The fridge was practically bare now with just a few items left inside.

About an hour ago; Vicki had appeared on the Gilbert doorstep with sunglasses over her eyes and she looked either high or drunk - Jeremy couldn't tell. He thought it was likely a new drug she was trying to get high on but she was acting very differently from how her benders usually go. It was honestly starting to scare him a little and it was for her sake.

"Come this way." The younger Gilbert led Matt to where his sister was in the house. They went into the kitchen together and found the woman in question sitting on the floor with her back resting against the kitchen island. She was chugging down a soda until there was nothing left in the can. All around the tables, Matt could see empty packages and leftover food, all eaten. This was new, even for him, and he's had to deal with the aftermath of Vicki's addiction habits for years now.

He wished and prayed she would stop and get help but in the end, she never does. There have been hundreds of times when his sister has disappointed him but the worry was always overshadowing it, even now.

"What she on?" Matt didn't look over to Jeremy as he asked this question. His eyes never leaving his sister.

Jeremy could only give a helpless shrug, "I-I don't know." He was clueless; Vicki hadn't even given him a straight answer on what she had been taking. The only thing he remembered her having on her person were Elena's pills. It couldn't be those, though, he had already taken them away and left. She had been completely avoiding the conversation each time he inquired and deep down, it did annoy him a little bit.

Matt just gave him a small nod to acknowledge the answer. He couldn't blame Jeremy. It wasn't his fault Vicki was acting like this – if anything, the younger Donovan felt sorry for the kid for falling in love with his sister. He hated to say it but Vicki probably wasn't the best person to be hanging around with or even be in a relationship with.

Without another word to him; Matt bent down in front of his sister as she used a finger to rub just above her mouth, pushing into where her gums where. She had a cringe on her face with pain etching in. He could tell she was in pain just as he took the sunglasses off her, looking to see how she was really doing.

"Hey, Vic," He said in a soft quiet tone, one that someone would normally use on a small child to comfort them, "How you doin'?"

Vicki's hair coated half of her face as her neck rolled, "Not good, Mattie." She was breathing deeply, letting out small whimpers as shards of pain kept igniting beneath her gums. "I hurt." It was painful. It felt as though she should know why but the answer just doesn't seem to be coming to her for some reason.

 _Denial._

"Okay, where does it hurt?" Her brother asked, looking her up and down to see if there was any physical damage. He found none. It must be something he couldn't see with his own eyes. He noticed how she pushed her fingers around her mouth earlier so he could only assume it was something to do with that. He theory was proven right by her next declarations.

"My gums." She responded, feeling her eyes tear up as another shot of pain waved through her system, "My jaw hurts. My gum – there's something in my gums, and it _hurts_." Everything was loud too so her ears were starting to ring and there was a constant buzzing coming from somewhere that was incessantly annoying. Her brother's voice, even by how low it was, wasn't helping either.

"Okay, well-"

"No!" Vicki yelled when Matt went to touch her arm, flinching away from the contact. She felt herself start to cry just as she had done at the Boarding house when talking about how depressing her life was. "Just leave me alone."

Matt sometimes wondered if he was the oldest child in the family when it came to things like this. His sister was acting like the youngest and as much as it pained him to see her like this, it was becoming increasingly exasperating to have to be the one to take care of her all the time when it should clearly be the other way around. "Come on, Vic." He pleaded, not wanting her to make a scene. "Don't be like that. Let's get you home."

Vicki didn't move a muscle and instead started shouting at him. "Just turn it off!" She cried, bringing her hands to her ears as the noises continued getting louder and the room getting brighter.

"Turn what off?" Jeremy responded, confused and unsure on what to do at the same time. The same feelings he's felt since the moment he found his girlfriend standing on his doorstep.

"The talking, the chatter, just turn it off!" Matt stumbled back from where he crouched when his sister suddenly rose from her spot on the ground, waving her arms around in frustration. No one seemed to be doing anything to really help her – she didn't even know how someone _could_ help her. She didn't even really know what was happening to herself, to begin with. There was a constant nagging in the back of her head that knew exactly what was happening but it just wasn't coming to her senses.

Vicki had intended to just walk out the front door and run off somewhere but suddenly she halted in the middle of the doorway connecting the living room to the kitchen. The TV was on and switched to the news channel. It was replaying the same report it had done for several hours now. To Matt and Jeremy, they couldn't hear what was actually being said by Logan Fell but Vicki could somehow hear every word. It helped for the boys to know what had happened because of the banners underneath the news reporter.

Jeremy was the first to walk forwards and turn up the volume so he and Matt could hear.

Vicki could only stand there and witness as a devastation was reported – from a place she remembered being last night. Tears began to stream down that face as the shadow of a dark man appeared in her vision with a familiar pain biting into her neck at the same time.

" _Three bodies were found dead in what was believed to be a drug deal gone awry."_ Logan Fell said into a microphone, speaking into the camera, _"The bodies have yet to be identified."_ A close-up of the bodies showed there were three people to be exact, all covered in sheets and ready to be bagged up and taken to the morgue. _"They were discovered earlier today over at the old Mystic Falls Cemetery.-"_

Jeremy was staring at the TV screen in horror, remembering with great detail that he had been there last night – with Vicki. She had introduced him to three of her friends, the town druggies. _That must be them_ , he thought with shock. "That's where we were last night." He voiced his thoughts, drifting the female into the conversation as her brother found out.

Matt looked at him with wide eyes before they rested on his sister, now wondering what could have happened to her. From what Jeremy had told him before and from what he knew himself, she was gone all night, alone. "What happened, Vic?" He asked with a deep concern in his tone.

Vicki didn't respond. All she could do was continue to silently cry as she watched the news report.

" _-homicide and are currently looking for suspects. They're asking anyone with information-"_

Matt didn't receive an answer from her and he shook his head, coming to a quick decision. "That's it, I'm calling the cops." Vicki must have been there last night judging by the way she was acting. Even though many of her moods could be dramatic, this was different. He could feel it.

"No, don't." Vicki caught his arm before he could even turn around. She didn't want the police involved, especially since she didn't really know what happened, to begin with. Her memories were starting to blur – there was something she was forgetting.

Jeremy, being the good boyfriend he thought he was, took a step forwards to try and lightly grab her arm, asking, "What happened after I left last night, Vick?" Before he could even touch her skin, he felt himself being propelled back into the living room sofa.

Matt's eyes widened with shock. Vicki had just pushed Jeremy, a pretty big guy for his age, back into a piece of furniture like he weighed nothing. "Jer, you okay?" He immediately went to help him up but was instantly waved away, the younger male insisting he was fine. Making sure Jeremy really was okay, he turned towards his sister, He wasn't a hundred percent sure of what to make of what he had seen and he wasn't even sure what he should be doing anymore.

No one in the living room realized it but during their confrontation, none of them heard two more people entering the house. Footsteps started making their way towards their direction.

Elena was the first to speak when she and her sister entered the room, hearing something much like an argument go on. "What is going on?" Her eyebrows furrowed when she saw Matt and Vicki standing there. Vicki, she understood because from what she could gather, she was currently her brother's girlfriend. But Matt? It surprised her a little more than the look of the room did.

As Elena went over to them, her sister suddenly halted just inside the room.

Olivia's eyes began flickering around the room with a frown on her lips and confusion in her eyes. She could only hear three normal heartbeats and one that stuttered like it was unsure whether it was supposed to be beating or not. There were clearly only four people in the room, including herself, and she remembered feeling that specific pounding heartbeat in herself not too long ago. Looking around with speculative eyes; there was food littered everywhere and it was mostly all eaten. It was like someone had been starving for years and they had finally been given the chance to eat something.

"She's really messed up." Matt's voice snapped the vampire away from continuing to survey the surroundings. Elena came and stood beside him, examining his sister on how she appeared to look. Vicki had old and new tear marks running down her face, her hair was a little matted like it hadn't been brushed in a day and her clothing hadn't changed from yesterday's. Overall, she also looked incredibly pale and anxious too.

Olivia zoned in on Vicki instead of how she did with the room, taking in all the differences of the teenager before piecing them together. Suddenly it felt as though a horrible sensation passed through her. A possible horrifying conclusion came to mind. The teenager was clearly distressed with everyone looking at her and the tears still streamed down her cheeks. Her head snapped in every direction, almost as if she was starting to hear multiple things in every direction.

She started moving towards Vicki, her eyes only on the oldest Donovan.

"Elena, Matt, back up," Olivia instructed them cautiously. Not giving them a chance to refute it, she moved in front of Vicki so it blocked their access to her. They both did as they were told but in utter confusion. They could only watch as Olivia took charge with a confidence they had never seen before.

"Vicki, look at me." She instructed softly as she rested her hand on the side of Vicki's head, getting the older girl to look towards her and _only_ her. "Just focus on me." Vicki's eyes connected with hers and all of a sudden, those anxious feelings started to dim. There was almost a calm silence through the room within a matter of seconds. The three people behind her were breathing in normally and their hearts were of the normal range.

Vicki, however, had the same heart she heard just a few moments ago. When the young vampire touched her, she could feel underneath her palm just how cold Vicki's skin was. It was very cold – one she could make out to be like hers on a day she hadn't had any coffee. Inside her head, everything little detail started piecing together and the conclusion wasn't something she was entirely prepared for.

 _Oh, god…_ She whispered in her head, letting out a deep breath when the true realization came to her. She knew what was happening. She had been through it herself, even if it had been for only a few minutes before giving over to the lust. Vicki wasn't high, drunk, or even crazy.

 _Vicki Donovan was in transition to becoming a vampire._

As of this moment; she deeply wished Stefan was here beside her because she had no idea what to do. Even during the ride home, he still hadn't picked up the phone. An intense feeling inside felt as though Damon had something to do with it – from Stefan going missing to how Vicki was in the process of becoming a vampire.

The massacre on the news must have been him; the feast he was referring to last night over the phone. She hadn't heard the full report because she hadn't been listening to all of it. Although, a few snippets did register in her mind before it made her pay full attention.

"You're going to be fine, Vicki," Olivia reassured the muddled girl in front of her. It felt odd to do so given how they didn't really know each other. She also didn't harbor many nice feelings towards Vicki but given the circumstances, she pushed them all aside to focus on what was happening right now. "Everything's going to be fine." All she received in response was a small but tired nod. Olivia could only guess that Vicki's been in transition for a couple of hours. It's pretty lucky that Lexi had explained some of the transitioning process to her before leaving Chicago, otherwise, she really wouldn't know what to do.

Olivia never really had the chance to experience transitioning, much less having a choice.

Elena, Jeremy, and Matt were staring at Olivia in light amazement as she brought Vicki down from her high and calmed her down. Given by what the Gilbert sister was doing, she knew exactly what was going on and that made them even more intrigued.

Olivia turned towards the other three, mainly directing her attention towards Matt and Jeremy as she brought her hand back down to her side. "Guys, take her up to bed. Shut the blinds and turn off anything that may make a sound." She instructed them. Hating the fact that she was letting a potential vampire in the same room as two people she cared deeply for. She cursed at herself for even having to do this but from what she could tell, Vicki had no idea what was happening to her and as long as no one bleeds, everything should be fine … for now.

"She's going to be okay." She promised everyone as Matt instantly went to his sister's side, starting to do exactly what was being told. He went to Vicki's side and put an arm around her, directing her towards the stairs where they would go up to Jeremy's bedroom. She didn't try to stop them from taking her anywhere because right now, darkness and no noise sounded like heaven.

Jeremy followed behind but he did take one last glance towards Olivia before leaving out of sight.

Elena stayed where she was while her eyes were showing feelings of conflict and uncertainty. She didn't understand what had just happened at all. How did Olivia know exactly what to do? And what was wrong with Vicki?

Matt, Jeremy, and Vicki were soon out of sight and up the stairs.

Elena turned to her sister and asked the important and most relevant question in her mind.

"You know what's wrong with her?"

Olivia fiddled with the phone in her hand, pacing, wondering if she should try Stefan again or not. She probably shouldn't bother. He would have tried to call her back after the number of messages she's left over the past hour or so. "Yeah." She nodded, not really looking towards her sister right now. She needed to figure out what to do because she had no idea where to turn next. What does she do with Vicki? In transition, there were only two specific choices that would eventually hit – you turn, or you die.

Elena wasn't pleased when she didn't receive a proper answer to what was going on. Her sister seemed to be staring into space; her head was crooked towards the ceiling and her eyes flickered around the area where Jeremy's bedroom was. Her vampire hearing was allowing her to hear exactly what was being said and done in that room – she needed to keep her ears open just in case anything should happen. If worse comes to worse, Jeremy, Elena, and Matt were her first priorities. Vicki being in transition was an unpredictable occurrence on its own and she already knew how much of an addict the girl was. Getting just one drop of blood could set off a chain reaction.

"What is it?" Elena questioned, her voice leaving no room for a lie to return as an answer. Her question finally gave her the attention she wanted and the response she received wasn't very good news. It made her heart fall into her gut.

Olivia had to briefly lick her lips, pausing before having to regretfully inform her sister of her findings. "She's transitioning." She kept her voice down a little, moving a little closer. She wanted to make sure neither of the three occupants upstairs could overhear them.

Elena blinked. All the information her sister had spoken to her about had obviously gone flying out the window. "Transitioning into what?" She questioned dumbly.

"A vampire."

" _What?..."_ The human brunette breathed as her eyes widened, not believing her ears to have heard right. Suddenly all the information she had been given earlier came back to her.

"Damon must have gotten to her." Olivia pondered her original thoughts out loud, wanting Elena to know what she was thinking. "But from what I can tell, she's new. The process isn't complete and she's only been in transition for a couple of hours."

Elena swallowed hard, "Complete as in …" She let her words die, her sister already knowing what was about to be asked. She felt her heart jump in fear when she realized where Vicki currently was – in their brother's bedroom. Matt and Jeremy were in the same room as someone who was in transition to become a vampire – a person who needed blood to complete the horrifying process.

Olivia nodded numbly, confirming the fears. She stopped pacing and leaned against the side of the island, her lower back resting on it.

"B-but what if she doesn't?" That part had never really come up during their conversation at the lake.

"She'll pass away, Lena." The vampire said sadly but there was a tinge of anger in her voice that was directing towards a certain raven headed vampire currently trapped inside what she could assume would be the Boarding house. The sun was nearly set so it's only a matter of time before he was free and on the prowl again. "There's probably only a few hours left."

"Jeremy and Matt are upstairs with her right now." A sense of panic reached into her vocal tone and she couldn't believe her sister wasn't feeling much the same.

"Vicki doesn't seem to understand what's happening to her." Olivia shook her head, double checking everything was alright judging by what she was hearing. There was some light talking and nothing seemed to indicate that anything was going wrong. "And I'm constantly listening. If anything happens, I'll be up there in a flash to end it immediately." There was promise driven in her tone and it did make Elena feel a little more at ease, but not by much.

"But when is she going to know?"

"Right now, she doesn't remember anything." Olivia could only watch as her sister began pacing in the living room with her hands on her hips – shaking her own head in disbelief. "A part of her is still human and resisting the change but slowly, the … deeper she gets into the transition, she'll have to make the choice whether she wants to or not." She remembered Stefan mentioning a night on a rooftop where Damon made Vicki a ploy to get him drinking human blood again, it hadn't worked. And who knows what Damon told Vicki before he killed and made her a transitioning vampire?

"The same choice you made…" Elena muttered under her breath, feeling the pressure start to cave in on her. Her voice didn't sound bitter and angry but more disappointed and horrified that this was even a choice. Deep down, she still felt the same conclusion of knowing what could have happened to her sister. She could have died. But, this was different. Someone else close to them was becoming a vampire and all because of the man she had a stupid crush on.

She didn't know what to feel anymore.

Olivia had to look down guiltily when her sister mentioned about the choice she had to make. She tried to not take it too personally as her mind went back to figuring out what to do.

…

Upstairs in the bedroom; Jeremy was slowly stroking a damp towel on the side of Vicki's face while looking straight into her eyes. He didn't understand what was happening to her but he was somewhat glad that his sister did – it just upset him that she hadn't come up and said what was actually wrong with her. There was a deep worry inside of him – one that had popped up from the moment he noticed the weird changes in his girlfriend.

Vicki was sat up curled up in his bed with the duvet covers hanging around her shoulders. The blinds and curtains were closed, as instructed, and all they could do was wait until some answers were provided.

Vicki could say she felt a lot better than she had been – everything was quiet and the darkness was making her eyes burn a lot less. The answers to the questions she had still hadn't been answered on what was happening to her, and why. She couldn't believe that Olivia Gilbert of all people knew what was happening, she seemed so calm about it and knew exactly what she needed but couldn't clearly say. It felt as though she also knew something about Olivia but her finger just couldn't quite place what it was.

"I'm sorry," She suddenly said out loud, feeling like a burden like she usually does. "I'm so much trouble."

Jeremy wasn't holding it against her because he just smiled a little, "Aw, you just – you need to just sleep it off, ok?" He leaned forwards and kissed her forehead, letting her fall into his arms to receive a warm hug. He suddenly felt how cold she was and instantly he brought her in a little closer to try and warm her body up faster. He didn't understand why her skin was so cold, though.

Vicki was leaning in closer to the hug with her nose and mouth resting in the crook of his neck. It wasn't too sudden but slowly, a small and deliciously incising smell started attracting her nostrils, activating a saliva response in her brain. She sniffed a little deeper as the scent grew stronger, a pumping noise starting to accumulate louder to go along with it. She could feel it – it was a lustful feeling, one she's never felt before in her life.

It was scaring her to the point where she had no idea what she was doing.

"N-No." She stuttered, rapidly shaking her head. She instinctually pushed Jeremy away for her, afraid of what she may do to him as something in her memories started to come back. A familiar sense of danger and fear.

She couldn't stay here – it wasn't safe.

For anyone.

…

Olivia had turned her hearing away for just a second but jumped a little when she heard someone rushing down the stairs. Both she and Elena quickly made their way towards the door when Matt called out his sister's name. The sound of the front door opened. As soon as the sisters arrived at the door just moments after Vicki had disappeared through the threshold – they were greeted by an empty street and no sign of Vicki.

Olivia looked down each way of the street as she came to a stop near the street pathway. She tried to see any sign of the missing girl but deep down she knew she wouldn't. She'd have to resort to the other way to find Vicki. But, that also meant leaving Elena and Jeremy alone. She wouldn't be back to protect them if Damon were to stop by while she was gone.

Jeremy gazed out from beside the front door, his face full of emotions. "She was fine," He insisted, confused yet again to what had happened. They really were fine. None of this was making any sense. "She just – she just freaked out."

Olivia let out a breath, realizing what must have happened. Vicki must be closer to the choice being made than she thought … this wasn't good. She couldn't let Vicki be on her own right now because she had no idea what the extent of the result would be. A lot of bad things could happen if Vicki found a drop of human blood – there would be no one to stop her like someone had done to her when she turned.

After Olivia turned; she could have slaughtered a lot of people just because of the lust for blood she felt. It was like she had no rational mind anymore and the real Olivia Gilbert had vanished into thin air. It took getting chained up and dried out a little to realize what had happened to her.

"I'm gonna go look for her." Matt declared, not willing to let his sister run away when she clearly needed some semblance of help. What Olivia had suggested had clearly helped in some manner but now he wasn't understanding what made Vicki just up and leave. "Call me if you hear anything!" He called over his shoulder, sprinting towards the truck that was perfectly parked on the side of the road. No one was going to stop him looking for his sister. She was the only family he really had left.

Olivia kept her eyes forwards but lowered her voice so only her sister could hear, "Lena, I can track her." She couldn't let Matt be the one who found Vicki and she doubted anyway that he would. She was going to have to take the risk that Damon wouldn't hurt her sibling. She desperately hoped she was making the right decision.

"Go." Elena instantly replied, nodding quickly.

Olivia slipped her phone into her sister's hands, "Keep trying Stefan and if he picks up, tell him what's happened." Normally she wouldn't have handed the device over just in case Elena needed to reach her but her phone was the only one with Stefan's cell phone number on it. Sniffing, she began trying to catch Vicki's scent and when she did, she started taking off down the opposite direction of where Matt was heading.

The last two Gilberts left behind could only watch as Matt drove off one way and Olivia started walking towards another. Jeremy was still standing where he was, his eyes gazing towards the sister that was walking away with a determined look on her face. She glanced once behind them before she too disappeared.

Elena could only uneasily watch. She was unsure of what was going to happen over the next couple of hours, let alone the next few days to say the least.

…

Night had finally fallen and the sun was all tucked away as Logan Fell continued his journey through the dark forest. The only sounds he could hear were the birds up in the trees and the slight clicking the pocket watch made. So far, he hasn't found a single vampire. The watch, so far, hadn't given him any indication that there was one somewhere hidden in this forest. The pin just kept twisting around in a circle and not stopping to a specific way. It was clear the magic was still working, though - whatever power seemed to be making this pocket watch do its job.

He jumped a little in his skin when the flutter of wings drew him out of his hunting state of mind. It was just a few birds taking off so he quickly got over it.

As he made a few more large steps a solid click suddenly caught his attention. His eyes drew back down to the watch. He was surprised, stunned, and even a little uneasy when he noticed the pin had stopped moving. It was simply pointed to the same path he had already been following.

Without thinking about it twice; he pulled out the cellphone he had stashed in his pocket.

He dialed a familiar number.

" _Yeah?"_ The Sheriff's expectant voice greeted him after just the first ring.

Logan got straight to the point, "I think I got something." He told her, "It's pointing towards the old cemetery." The very same place the three bodies had been found earlier today. The fiend must be going back to the scene of the crime.

" _I'm heading your way."_

…

"Maybe we should check in with Matt?" Jeremy said anxiously, watching as his older sister just kept cleaning up the kitchen from the mess Vicki had made. She seemed to be doing everything possible to keep herself busy. He was just standing by the sink, not doing anything, his eyes making a sideways glance out the front window in hope that Vicki would just come right back.

Elena just shook her head, "He'll call when he finds her."

"And where the hell has Liv gone?" He questioned, following everything she did. It didn't make any sense to him and something had clearly ben exchanged between the two before his other sister disappeared along with Matt.

"She went to help Matt." Elena simply said, not saying anything about the tracking her sister had mentioned. Their brother could never know of the creature she had become. She didn't want him in danger of knowing that kind of information, she understood that and why her sister had kept that hidden from her too. It was just too much to handle on top of everything else.

Jeremy threw his arms up in the air, now frustrated, "Neither of them know Vicki like I do – I'm the one whose more likely to find her!"

"No." Elena told him in a hard tone, "We wait here – we're supposed to wait." There was no way in hell she was letting her little brother out of this house, especially now that it's dark outside. She glanced over to her brother's crestfallen face and her own softened, "She'll be fine Jer." _Everything will be fine._

She went to pick up another pile of plates but something else promptly caught her attention instead – a doorbell ring.

Elena was the first one to the door in hopes that either Matt or Olivia had returned. Unexpectedly and much to her horror, it wasn't either of them or even Stefan. She felt Jeremy come up from behind her to see who it was. She suddenly wished now that her sister had never left to find Vicki after all.

It was Damon Salvatore standing at the front door.

He stood there unaffected when he noticed how wide her eyes went and how she tried to slam the door right in his face. He simply placed a hand on the door, stopping it from closing. He was here for one reason and one reason only. To get his ring back. He already knew Olivia had it with her so this was the best place to start locating the vampire. A twinkle of amusement did fill him when he realized just why the Katherine look-a-like was trying so hard to keep him out.

There was fear in her eyes.

Elena realized her strength would do nothing against a vampire as the door was forced open with inhuman strength. She stopped trying to push it shut and instead ordered her brother to do something. "Jeremy, go upstairs." She said, trying her hardest not to let her voice waver too much but the vampire in front of her just raised an eyebrow at the way she was acting.

Jeremy was unsure about leaving at first but he did follow his sister's wishes. As he went up the stairs, he could feel eyes watching him.

Damon's eyes had been following him until he was finally out of sight – leaving him and Elena now staring at each other. The vampire couldn't help but smirk because he could guess exactly why she's afraid of him. There would only be one reason this girl would be fearful of him.

"Well, would you look at that." Damon tilted his head, making the linings on his lips more pronounced. He slipped his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket, "You're afraid of me. Olivia spilled the beans. Never thought she'd have the guts to do it, mind you." He was betting that Elena had already found out and the vampire had to finally fess up. "Good for her."

Elena tried to look strong while demanding at the same time, "Stay away from us."

"Oh, Elena." Damon pretending to be scolding her, "There's no need to be rude. I'm just looking for that sister of yours. May I come in?" He snorted after a brief pause, pretending to have remembered something from the top of his head, "Oh, wait. Of course, I can. I've been invited." He pushed passed the doorway and stepped into the house without any barriers holding him back.

He could already tell Olivia wasn't in the house so she must be out somewhere – he just needed to know where so he could easily track her. He noticed in the corner of his eye how Elena was acting – she was nervous and deep down, he could tell she was scared. It was a much different response that what he's usually receiving from her. It felt … odd and surprisingly … it even hurt a little.

"Don't worry, Elena." He said in a bored tone, rolling his eyes while pushing away the feeling. He wandered into the living room while his ears were still stretching out to see if his hearing can pick anything up that wanted to go unnoticed. He really doubted he'd find anything, though. "I'm not going to kill you – that wouldn't serve my greater agenda. So, I already know my brother doesn't have my ring because he's lying on my living room floor with a snapped neck. The only person who can have it is the one person my brother would trust to hide it in a very safe place away from my prying hands."

Elena swallowed hard as he spoke.

So … that's why Stefan hasn't been picking up his phone, his brother had killed him. Albeit, temporarily and vampires come back from what she remembered her sister saying. It's only a stake to the heart, fire, or decapitation that kills a vampire. A snapped neck is neither of those things – he's basically just in a forced sleep right now.

"So … where's Olivia?"

Damon voice and the way his eyes glimmered made it clear he was not going to be playing any games with her – he wanted straight answers and any that aren't, it wouldn't end well for anyone.

Elena suddenly gritted her teeth, remembering what Damon had done to make Olivia have to leave the house in the first place. "She's out looking for Vicki." Her tone was far from just being judgmental but it was angry too. She decided to also throw in a bit of hatred to cover the fact that fear was still swarming her.

Damon just rolled his eyes again with frustration - he should have known that. "Of course she is." He let out a deep sigh, knowing that she could be anywhere now. His best guess would be somewhere in the forest. Luckily, he had the ability to track Vicki since her scent was still lingering. He was more likely to find Olivia by tracking Vicki since there was still some human left in her. Tracking vampires didn't always work and if it does, usually there wasn't enough to trace.

…

It hadn't taken very long for Olivia to find Vicki but when she did, she was met with a girl sobbing her heart out beside a crypt in the Cemetery. She was sat down, her legs curled into her chest as the cries made her body shake. Olivia slowly moved forwards while staying calm and collected. She didn't want to spook the poor girl who was physically in distress

"Vicki," Olivia announced her presence, coming up from the right side just less than a meter away.

Vicki was startled by the voice but didn't appear to feel scared when she realized it was Olivia Gilbert. She could remember everything now, even the words Damon had spoken to Stefan that night. The raven haired vampire had called Olivia one too. The fact that Olivia was here right now was proving her thoughts to be right. There was no way someone could find her on a whim in just a short amount of time – she understood a vampire could have easily tracked her.

"I'm starting to remember things." Vicki finally revealed, her throat clogged up with tears as she choked through her speech. "What he is, what he said." The young Gilbert could only assume she was talking about Damon. "I-I remember them mentioning you. The hospital, the rooftop … it's all coming back to me." Back at the Falls, she was attacked by Damon – a vampire. Stefan had erased her memory and later, so did Damon. The same vampire who had turned her into … _this._

Olivia moved in closer, looking extremely sympathetic because this decision should never be forced on anyone. Like it had been for the both of them. They were never given the choice on becoming a vampire or staying human. "I am so sorry that this happened to you," She expressed, "Damon had absolutely _no right_ to do this to you."

Vicki could feel another wave of sobs working through her, "He said I need to feed." Her eyes were staring up pleadingly towards Olivia's, "What will happen if I don't?" Her words wavered with deep heavy breaths, fear lining deeper than it had been before. She could already feel herself slipping away and she was _soo_ tired. Part of her knew exactly what was going to happen but her ears needed to hear it for themselves - from someone who knew what would actually happen to her.

She hadn't really cared for Olivia Gilbert in the past but the younger girl had never done anything to her to warrant any nastiness. They usually just kept out of each other's way. Overall, they were acquaintances and that was that. But, given the circumstances, she was glad Olivia had been the one to come and find her rather than Stefan or Damon. She didn't really like those two – Damon was the monster that turned her and Stefan was clearly a stranger. She needed someone she knew to help her through this.

"You'll fade quickly-" Olivia replied quietly after a moment's pause, not being able to help but feel her own eyes tear up, seeing this girl looking and feeling so torn up, "-And then … it'll just be over." She sat down beside Vicki on the top step of the crypt's entrance.

Vicki was smart enough to know what that meant – she could feel it beginning now.

"I'll be dead." Vicki blurted tearfully, working it out. Every part of her body started to shake, "I don't want this." She sobbed, craving for some comfort.

"I know," Olivia reached forwards and held onto Vicki's hand. Fingers held onto her with a desperate grip. "You're gonna be okay. We may not know each other well but I'll help you in any way that I can."

"Is it better?" Vicki asked, praying that it would because how she felt today was nothing she wanted to feel again. She could detect that same lust for blood like before with Jeremy. She couldn't risk his life or Matt's if she completed this process into a vampire. What would happen to her if she decided that option? "Will I be better?"

Olivia truly wanted to tell her that life would be better but that's just not how it worked. Her mouth opened for a moment as if to say something but nothing came out. She didn't know what to say. _No, it's not likely to get better_. Is what she probably should say but she didn't want to be a big influence on this decision.

Either way; Vicki's life would change completely. One of the options didn't even allow her to live anymore while the other would turn her into something not human anymore. She didn't want to be the reason for Vicki deciding to die. It was because of what Vicki's life consisted before that may her worry if Vicki would make it as a vampire. She was an addict and according to Lexi, it was dangerous for an addict to become a vampire.

They could quite easily get addicted to the taste of warm human blood and the next thing you know, there's a bloodbath in the next town.

When Vicki didn't receive a verbal answer, she already knew what that meant. _No_. Her eyes scrunched up as fear and sadness crashed over her, "I wanna go home." She pleaded emotionally, not wanting to be in the forest anymore. Her eyes locked onto Olivia again and hers were begging to see her brother one last time. "Will you take me home?"

Olivia had an understanding look on her face along with a small smile. It saddened her because she realized what Vicki had probably decided to do, "Ok." She held out a hand to help Vicki up as she got up from where she sat at the same time.

Through this, she hadn't listened to her surroundings because her focus had been completely on Vicki. She never noticed someone creeping up on them from the side, a human. The news reporter and her Aunt's fling - Logan Fell. There was something pointing towards Olivia and she never even realized it – a gun.

 _BANG._

Olivia's breath stuttered and her chest jerked as a sharp projectile hit her body, just a few inches away from her heart. Just by the initial impact – whatever it was hurt like hell. It was like a blinding pain that had been heated to a couple hundred degrees more than her usual body temperature.

She shakily glanced down at her chest and was suddenly painfully aware just how fast her blood was spilling from the wound. There had been a sound of a gunshot milliseconds before whatever it was had hit her. It must have been a bullet. She groaned, quickly feeling a loss of strength in her legs as each moment passed. Before she went down, she found herself staring into the eyes of someone she never thought she'd see shoot her, let alone wield a gun.

As a vampire; obviously, the bullet wound wouldn't kill her but that didn't make it any less painless. She's been shot … for the first time in her life, she has actually been shot.

Logan Fell had the handgun pointed towards Olivia with a determined look driven in his features. There was also guilt, shame, and a horrified surprise riddling in them too.

Vicki could only watch with wide and terrified eyes as Olivia glanced towards the sideline and notice who was standing there. She stumbled back into the brick wall behind her. She had no idea what to do, especially as the brunette's body fell to the ground with a distressing gasp leaving her lips. Olivia was breathing very deeply with her hand clutching at the wound. Her eyes began to widen as Logan Fell started moving towards her, now wielding a stake in his hand but with the handgun at the ready.

"Olivia Gilbert." Logan shook his head, kneeling beside her as his face turning hard to hide what he was really thinking right now. He knew she was the vampire because the pocket watch had been pinned directly on her. He couldn't believe it. This was the same girl that was the niece of the woman he cared deeply for. He didn't understand how she, of all people, could be a vampire. "I'm sorry it has to end this way." He began raising the stake, pinning the younger girl's body to the ground with his hand near her wound so she couldn't move as he ended her life.

"L-Logan, p-please." Olivia's voice shakily breathed with a plead deep in her eyes. She couldn't die, she needed help. She let out an agonized sound as Logan's hand pushed her body further into the ground. This time she couldn't stop the small tears from escaping her eyes and making their way towards the lining of her hair.

Vicki screamed out for him to stop as the piece of wood started sharply descending on Olivia but suddenly, another person came out of nowhere. This person grabbed Logan harshly away from the paralyzed vampire and this time, the human was the one to scream out in agony as something bit into his neck, ripping out his skin and draining his life force. He was silenced in less than a few seconds.

Damon dropped Logan's body to the ground with the guy's blood coating his lips and teeth. Ignoring the body, he bent down to Olivia's instead. His eyes went straight to the bullet wound in her chest. Ignoring her cry of pain, his fingers dug deeply into the hole to grab what had hit her in the first place. "Livia, just hold still." He told her sternly and he could see that she was trying to do just that when she realized what he was actually doing. He vaguely remembered when he first got shot after becoming a vampire, even as a human – it wasn't exactly a pleasant experience.

Especially being shot in the chest at close range.

Olivia felt herself give a relieved gasp when Damon finally ripped out his fingers and following them was the bullet that hit her. She could already feel her body trying to quickly repair itself even though her body was running on very little sustenance. With everything that's gone on, she hasn't been having as much blood as she usually got and that's not a very good thing.

"It's wood." Damon murmured with the bullet rolling between his two fingers. He was still crouching beside her body as she tried to deal with what had just happened. "They know."

"You saved me," Olivia stated out loud, her breath having small shakes within them. Her hand went back up to the wound, covering it up as it repaired itself. A vampire's pain tolerance was much better than a human's but it was still an intense feeling. She was staring up at Damon, still not having moved her body because part of her was afraid that if she did, the pain would increase. She remembered him calling her a nickname too, one she hasn't ever heard before. _Livia._

The older vampire looked down at her with an unreadable expression. Part of him didn't understand why he had saved Olivia but the more logical and less evil side knew exactly why. It's the part of him he's tried so hard to contain – especially around his brother.

"Yeah, well, if anyone's going to kill you – it'll be me." He finally decided to respond with his usual smirk.

Just when she thought there was something good in him.

"You're a dick."

"I know." Damon nodded, not disagreeing, "Now, where's my ring." Giving her the same look he's been using quite a lot recently.

Olivia let out a small groan of discomfort as she reached into her back pocket to grab the piece of jewelry. When she retrieved it, she practically shoved it into his hands. She watched as Damon slipped the ring back onto his finger – looking delighted and most importantly, relieved.

Through all this; neither of them realized that Vicki had no longer been standing by the crypt and was now crouched beside the dead body of Logan Fell. Her face was dug into the wound pouring from his neck. The sudden slurps she made are what announced to the vampires what she was actually doing.

"No! Vicki!"

At the sound of Olivia's voice; Vicki looked up and running down the bottom side of her face was probably close to half a liter of blood. Her eyes flashed after noticing what her craving for the blood had ended up becoming. She gulped down the liquid she had just taken in, "I'm sorry." She breathed, now beginning to feel more powerful sensation coming from her gums as she stumbled up to her feet.

Olivia could only hopelessly stare as Vicki disappeared into the forest.

Damon made a small cringe but it wasn't because of guilt, "Oops." He ended up commenting.

If there was any time Olivia wanted to snap his neck again – this would gladly be the time.

She started trying to get herself up off the ground.

Damon was about to leave until he saw something shining in the grass right beside Logan Fell's body. He frowned, moving a little closer to see what it was. His curiously spiked when he noticed it was an old pocket watch that felt vaguely familiar. He grabbed it from the ground, intending to take it with him and investigate further as he slipped it into his jacket pocket. He made a little noise that sounded like 'huh' before he turned towards the vampire who was now shakily back on her feet. Her body was bending over so her hands were resting on her knees.

 _She must be drinking less human blood_ , Damon thought to himself, knowing that she should have been completely healed by now and out of pain. He noticed just how turned away her head was from the news reporters body. He knew then what the more important problem was, "You should feed." He noted, seeing an outline of black veins spreading from her eyes. "It's not like he'll feel it." He mentioned afterward with a carefree shrug, thinking that was the issue.

Olivia's teeth were gritted as a feeling an unbelievable pressure spread her gums because of how much her vampire side wanted to flash over to that body and drain him completely dry. She wanted to run away from the smell but it was like her feet couldn't move, they didn't want to. "No," She said with a painfully hard tone, "I'm not like that – I _can't_ be like that." She was afraid that if she did it once it would become an addiction. You do it once, you're sure to do it again.

And this wasn't just anybody either – it was the person her Aunt cared for. How could she even look into her Aunt's eyes without feeling that guilt come rushing back? She couldn't do it – she _wouldn't_. It was bad enough that Logan died right in front of her eyes. She'll have to keep that a secret along with her vampire one.

The next thing Olivia knew after a sudden whoosh and a gust of wind was that she and Damon were now standing in another part of the forest, probably close to a mile away from where Logan's body had been. She could smell tiny whiffs but finally, she could feel herself start to breathe normally again. The smell of blood was nowhere near as strong as it had been. Finally, she felt like she could breathe again.

Moving her body up straighter when she felt the wound finally closing, barring some soreness, she looked to Damon with utter confusion in her eyes. He had basically saved her from committing one of her nightmares without even having to be begged.

"Why did you do that?" The Damon she had come to know, or at least felt like she knew, would have just left her standing there until she gave into the blood. He stood there without much of an expression on his face while his head only tilted at her as though he were surveying her.

Damon didn't give her a straight answer to her question, "You should get home." He told her. "Stefan's probably worried that something's happened to you." He stepped a little closer, "Keep in mind something, Olivia. My brother may not want to believe it right now but one day you _must_ give in. It's the only way you'll feel in control of yourself."

Olivia was about to open her mouth to retort something back but when she blinked, she was suddenly standing all alone. It was like Damon had never been there in the first place.

…

Olivia knew she could have easily used her vampire speed to get back most of the way but she really didn't feel like it.

She had failed. She wasn't able to stop Vicki from turning into a vampire because the lust for blood had become too great. And now; Vicki was probably somewhere trying to figure out where to go next. If they don't get to her, it was only a matter of time until dead bodies started to pile up. If they're not careful – the people in town will start to think there was more than one vampire in Mystic Falls.

Clearly, they already knew one was already here.

The worst part of her was glad Logan hadn't survived just because if he did, not only she would be dead – but Stefan and Damon would be too. She didn't care too much for Damon but she really appreciated what he did for her back there in the forest. Though, with Logan dead, how was she supposed to even look at her Aunt again? She knew this man was dead and she witnessed his murder. He was killed by the very same creature she had become.

Thinking of Logan – she wondered what the hell he was doing? He was obviously on a mission to stop a vampire but … was he working alone? Were there others that knew of their existence and truly knew there was one roaming around town. Logan was a Fell, a founding family member. Did that mean the founding families were involved? Including the Gilberts? Well, her parents before they died anyway.

Without even knowing it, she started walking towards the front porch of the Gilbert home, her thoughts still taking away the attention from her surroundings.

"You're bleeding!" A female voice exclaimed.

Olivia blinked, her head snapping up to where the voice had come from. It was from her sister. She had been sitting on the bench alone just outside the front door. The vampire found herself standing in front of a worried sister, eyes staring down at the bloody marks on her shirt. She had been wearing a light blue top today with a cream jacket. When blood was added to the mix in either, it didn't look very appealing. The stains were clearly blood because there was also a rounded hole in the middle of her chest to go along with it. It was just below her heart where you could see just a bit of her cream bra showing.

Elena went to touch the area but Olivia quickly stopped her, grabbing her hands, not wanting her sister to be covered in the lasting blood that still hadn't dried. "I-I'm fine." She assured her sister, feeling herself come back to reality, "Really, I'm okay, I'm all healed, I swear."

"What happened?" The brunette demanded, wanting to know why her sister was bleeding in the first place.

Olivia bit her lip, trying to find a good way to put was she was about to say out there, "I couldn't stop her, Lena." She informed her sister. She didn't want Elena to know what Logan had done, that he had been the cause of the wound because he was dead so it didn't really matter anymore. She also didn't want to burden her sister anymore – enough was enough for one day. The information only affected her, Stefan, and Damon right now. "I really tried but …"

Elena stayed silent for a moment and was only able to stare, "What does that mean?" She needed clarification for what her twin was trying to tell her. She couldn't stop Vicki from turning? Or she couldn't stop her from dying?

"She fed." Olivia's voice turned sorrowful, "And then I lost her."

Elena let out a breath she didn't even know she had been holding while a hand went up to her mouth. Vicki was a vampire … like her sister. Like Stefan … and Damon. She didn't realize it but her footing had taken a step back.

Everything was becoming a little too much.

"But I'll take care of it," Olivia quickly said afterward, "Stefan and I, we'll find her and show her that she can live like us. We'll make sure she will not hurt _anyone_. I promise you-"

"-What do we tell our brother?" Elena shook her head, not caring for what her sister had to say any more for right now, "Or Matt?!" Those were the two people closest to Vicki and in turn, closest to them. They could never know Vicki had turned into the same monster as her sister had.

Olivia knew this would be the hardest part.

"We'll have to come up with a story."

"You mean we'll come up with a _lie_ ," Elena emphasized on the last word with a hard tone, clearly not satisfied with the answer. It finally came to her on what was going to happen from now on. She'll have to lie to every single person she knew. She'd have to pretend she didn't know what had happened to Vicki, she'll have to lie to her own brother because Vicki had turned into a vampire, she'll even have to lie to Bonnie – the one person she literally talked about everything too. She'd have to keep so many secrets and all because she couldn't let go of the fact that her sister had been acting so weird lately.

This whole thing was becoming a lie after lie and a never-ending circuit.

She couldn't do it, she just couldn't do it right now.

It was just too much.

Elena had tears in her eyes as she shook her head, "I-I can't - I can't do this." Her voice came out just barely above a whisper. Gathering the strength and swallowing hard, she looked towards the sister whose face started to fall the moment she saw the expression, "I gave you today like you asked and I'll keep your secret." She promised, not going to back out on her word because this was her twin sister after all. "I understand you would never do anything to hurt me or anyone else but I just – I can't, I-I need time. I'm sorry, Liv."

Olivia couldn't even get her mouth to form words because she just stared at the girl in front of her as she ran into the house. She began to feel her own eyes start to wet when she realized that Elena hadn't been entirely okay with everything after all. Obviously, she hadn't expected her sister to be alright with everything in just one day but that reaction was worse that she had pictured after their talk at the lake. She had really thought they were getting somewhere but … evidently not.

Her bottom lip began to wobble and a single tear started making its way down the side of her cheek.

Her eyes hadn't left the closed front door even as a hand slipped into her own from the left side. She already knew who it was because that person slowly turned her around and pulled her body to his, bringing her in tightly to his chest. She couldn't stop it – she burst into heart-wrenching sobs. Everything from the past few days was finally catching up to her. Even what had happened in just a short period of time.

Stefan just pulled her in tighter when her grip did the same. He rested his chin on the top of her head as his shirt began getting wet. There was a tear in his own eye just because he hated seeing his girlfriend like this, so hurt and emotionally in pain. He knew he would do everything he could to make her feel better again but right now he could only hold her and hope to share the burden.


End file.
